


The Lost Heroine

by MissDreamgirl32



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: And how the world and plot change to accommodate that, Asexual Reyna, Badass Reyna, Beucase you get to see how different character react differently to the same situations, Character Study, Character swap AUs are fun to me, Established relationships only, F/M, I don't ship Reyna with anyone so, No romantic subplots, Reyna and Annabeth switched AU, Reyna can have a little bloodlust, So a lazy reskin of The Lost Hero is the last thing I'm interested in, The first chapter is about as close to the original book as I plan to get, as a treat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 55,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24457090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissDreamgirl32/pseuds/MissDreamgirl32
Summary: Reyna has a problem. She dosen't know who she is. Supposedly she goes to the Wilderness school but her teacher dosen't know who she is and her friends, Piper and Leo, can't answer her questions about herself. After battling storm spirits and being rescued by a flying pegasus, they are taken to Camp Half-Blood a safe place for demigods, but it's clear Reyna dosen't fit in there either. If she wants to recover her memories and learn the truth about who she is, she must embark on a quest to rescue the Queen of the Gods or die trying.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Clarisse La Rue/Chris Rodriguez, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Reyna/the appreciation and respect she deserves
Comments: 124
Kudos: 100





	1. Reyna

**Author's Note:**

> So I want to say up front that this first chapter is about as close to the original material as I intend to get. The whole appeal of this kind of AU to me is to see how a different character reacts to the same or similar situations and how the world and plot reacts differently to their decisions than they did originally. So basically the last thing I am interested in here is a lazy reskin of the Lost Hero. That said, since this is only the first chapter everyone else besides Reyna is pretty much in the same spot they were originally, sans Piper thinking she's in a relationship. In fact, no relationships in this story! The way everyone ends up in a relationship is probably my least favorite art of the whole series. Percy and Annabeth worked because there was so much build up to it of them first learning to get along and then becoming friends and then falling in love and then realizing their in love and THEN acting on it. After a while the romances feel rushed and unnecessary and I don't particularly ship any of these three characters together anyway.  
> Anyway, occasionally I will rip some text right out of the book but only in cases where either I can't imagine this character reacting differently or it's simply exposition or descriptive narration that wouldn't change much or at all if Reyna said it or Jason.

Even before Reyna fell down the Grand Canyon, she was not having a good day.

She’d woken up on a short bus full of teenagers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she had no idea who she was or how she got there. She glanced around the bus, looking for clues as to who these people were. The kids were too busy talking, sleeping, or listening to music to notice her. They were all around her age, about fifteen or sixteen. Wait… which of those was she? Oh, no.

Reyna tried to push down the lump in her throat that formed when she realized that. In any case, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just a group of kids going… somewhere. When she glanced outside the window, a dry barren wasteland of a desert rolled past. Reyna felt a knot form in her stomach, whatever else was going on here one thing was clear, she was trapped.

“Hey, so she awakens.” Came a friendly voice next to her that almost made Reyna jump out of her seat. She hadn’t paid much attention to her at first, but the girl sitting next to her was an incredibly pretty Native American girl. Reyna looked into her eyes and couldn’t decide what color they were, they seemed to change with the light like a kalidescope. Her hair was cut choppy and uneven, she wore no make up and her clothes were simple and functional but if she wasn’t trying to look pretty, she’d failed miserably. She smiled at Reyna like they were old friends “Did you have a good nap?”

The lump in Reyna’s throat pushed up again. Did she tell this pretty girl she had no idea who she was? Who either of them were? _No_ , Reyna decided. Despite the seemingly normal circumstances around her every ounce of Reyna was screaming at her to get out, that she didn’t belong here. If she told them there was no telling how’d they react. She still had no idea what was going on around her or who she could trust.

“It was fine, thank you.” She managed, looking back out the window at the wasteland and wondering just where in the hell they were going “When do we arrive?”

The girl shrugged. “Not long now. You slept most of the way.”

“Honestly, how you sleep on a bus, with the window vibrating like that, is beyond me, Reyna.” Another voice pipped up. From the seat in from of them appeared a Latino boy with sharp, elvish features and a mischievous smile that told you right away he should not be left alone with matches or sharp objects. “Must be that hard head of yours comes in handy for something after all.”

Reyna didn’t answer, she just crossed her arms and sat back in her seat and tried not to look as scared as she was. Apparently it worked because the next thing out of the boy’s mouth was about a worksheet he’d used for spitwads. He chatted a bit with the Native American girl and Reyna picked up that their names were Piper and Leo and they seemed to be good friends.

While they talked Reyna searched her person for any clues who she was. She’d been hoping for a wallet with some sort of id inside but no such luck. She wore a purple T-shirt, jeans, combat boots and a thin windbreaker. Around her neck was a golden pendant in the shape of a horse’s head. The only things she could find in her pockets was a can of mace, and a half-eaten bag of jelly beans. Well, at least she’d covered the basics.

She was still racking her brain, trying to figure out the best way to get Leo and Piper to answer her questions without tipping them off about just how in the dark she was when a teacher at the front of the bus shouted “Alright, cupcakes, listen up!”

The guy was obviously a coach, what with his buff physique, bright orange and white work out gear and spotless whistle around his neck. His baseball cap was pulled low over his hair, casting a shadow over his beady eyes and sour face. He would’ve looked pretty scary if he wasn’t five foot zero. When he stood up in the aisle, one of the students called “Stand up Coach Hedge!”

“I heard that!” The coach’s beady little eyes scanned the bus for the offender and zeroed in on Reyna. The knot in Reyna’s stomach tightened. Hedge knew she didn’t belong here. What would she say if he asked her what she was doing here? What would they do with her if she told them the truth? There were a thousand ways this could go badly for her and she simply didn’t have enough information to navigate the situation yet.

But instead of calling on her, Coach Hedge just looked away and cleared his throat “We’ll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don’t lose you’re worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes cause any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way.” He picked up his baseball bat and made like he was hitting a homer.

Leo turned around and winked at the girls “Watch this.” He whispered. He turned to face the Coach “Sorry what was that Coach Hedge? I couldn’t hear you back here. Could you use your megaphone please?”

Coach Hedge grunted like he was glad to have an excuse. He unclipped his megaphone and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader’s. He tried again but this time it blared “The cow says moo!”

The kids howled and the coach slammed down his megaphone “Valdez!”

Piper stifled a laugh “Oh my god, Leo! How’d you do that?”

Leo held up a mini Philips-head screwdriver “I’m a special boy.” A twinkle in his eye

“That’s it! The back row just volunteered for clean-up duty after lunch!” the Coach declared

The bus rest of the bus cheered. “There’s a shocker.” Leo mumbled

“Hilarious.” Reyna said flatly, her arms crossed

“Ah, everyone’s a critic.”

Piper looked at Reyna with a twinge of concern in her face. “Reyna, is everything okay. You seem… tense.”

“Truly these are unprecedented times.” Leo mumbled sarcastically but Piper ignored him and kept her color-changing eyes fixed on Reyna.

“I’m fine, Piper. Just a bit…” she struggled to find the right word. Nervous didn’t do what she felt justice but more accurate words like scared and terrified would beg further questions. “Overwhelmed.” She settled on finally.

Piper nodded and let the subject drop but she didn’t look away and the look of concern in those kaleidoscope eyes of hers made Reyna feel very bad for lying to her.

They arrived in front of a big red stucco complex in the middle of the desert. Storm clouds were gathering in the sky above. As the kids filed off, Reyna made sure to be the last kid in line. As she approached the drivers seat an idea crossed her mind. Maybe she could force the driver out of the bus and then she could shut the doors and drive to… to where? Where would she go? Where was her family? Her home? She didn’t know. She might’ve gone through with it anyway, if not for Coach Hedge, who was watching her closely as he tapped threateningly on his baseball bat. They both knew she didn’t belong there, but that didn’t mean he was going to let her pull off a bus jacking just to get out of there.

“Hey Leo.” She said quietly after they’d all unloaded “You’re good with tools right? What do you think the odds are you can hotwire a bus?”

Leo hooted, clearly thinking she was joking “We’re taking a page out of Piper’s playbook today, huh?”

Piper blushed “I didn’t steal that car, Leo!” she insisted

Leo rolled his eyes “Yeah, right, we’ve all been framed! I didn’t run away six times. Isabell didn’t assault an old lady. What was your story again, Pipes? You _talked_ the dealer into lending it to you?” He gave Reyna a look like _Can you believe her?_

But Reyna was too taken aback to respond. She thought maybe Piper had more guts than she initially guessed. She also wondered what the heck kind of school this was supposed to be anyway, and why she supposedly belonged there. She tried to read the writing on the bus but found it easier said than done. The letters seemed to shift and move across the side. Dyslexia? Great, as if today wasn’t hard enough already.

“Yo Piper.” One of the boys dropped back to join them as the majority of the class headed into the museum. He wedged himself between the girls and knocked Leo down. “You don’t have to talk to these bottom feeders. You’re my partner, remember?”

He looked like if Superman had been raised in Dallas instead of Smallville, except his eyes had a mean glint to them as he looked Reyna up and down in a way that made her shiver. She stuck her hands in her pockets and her fingers closed around the mace instinctively.

“Go away, Dylan.” Piper grumped, “I didn’t ask to work with you.”

“Aw, that’s no way to be. This is your lucky day!” He dragged Piper off to the entrance. She sent a desperate glance over her shoulder and then she was gone.

Leo got up and dusted himself off “I hate that guy.”

“Agreed.” Reyna said. She took a last look at the bus, Coach Hedge still standing between her and it. “We should get inside.”

Reyna was too distracted to pay much attention to the museum. Even if she had been able to focus, her dyslexia made it impossible to read the exhibits and Coach Hedge’s stirring lecture kept getting interrupted by random comments like “The pig says oink!” Apparently they were at the Grand Canyon which was good to know. Some girls that Reyna assumed to be the popular clique kept giving Piper a hard time, making snide comments about her heritage. Piper tried to ignore them but Reyna could feel the anger flowing from her, building like a current behind a dam.

It wasn’t until one of the girls made a comment about Pipers absentee mom that she snapped and charged. Without thinking, Reyna grabbed her and held her back. Piper fought against her, but Reyna’s grip was too strong for her, she had the distinct impression she’d done this before.

“Enough back there!” Coach Hedge snapped “Set a good example or I’ll break out my baseball bat!”

The other girls snickered at Piper and continued down the hall. Reyna released Piper.

“What was that about?” she demanded

“They’re beneath you, Piper.” Reyna said “Don’t waste your energy on a foe that poses no threat.”

Piper raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to respond but Leo interrupted before she could.

“Besides, if those girls knew who your dad actually was, you _know_ they’d be bowing down to you and screaming ‘We’re not worthy!’”

“Why? Who’s her dad?” Reyna asked before she could stop herself

Now Piper was looking at her like she’d grown a second head. “Okay, you’re acting _really_ weird, Reyna. Will you please just tell me what’s going on?”

Reyna hesitated. But if these were her friends, they must have answers for her right? Besides, it would be wrong to keep them in the dark forever. She sighed and confessed her lack of memory.

“What? You gotta be kidding! What? Is this revenge for the shaving cream on the Jell-O thing?” Leo protested

Piper studied her face closely and frowned, her eyebrows furrowing together “No. I… I think she’s serious.”

“You would know better than me. Am I someone to kid about these things?”

The two shared a look and Reyna knew she had won.

“What’s taking so long?” Coach Hedge’s grumpy voice came from u the hall “Hey you three, no stragglers! Keep with the group!”

“We’ll discuss this later.” Reyna announced and hurried along before her friends could argue. Coach Hedge was still watching her closely with those beady eyes of his.

The three of them reached the end of the exhibit hall and stepped through a set of large glass doors and what Reyna saw before them made her breath catch.

“Man,” Leo said “That’s pretty wicked.”

See, there’s knowing something called the Grand Canyon exists and then there’s seeing it for yourself. It was deeper and wider than you could appreciate from a photograph. Gray and red ravines zigzagged across the desert that reminded Reyna of battle scars on the face of the earth. They were standing on a horseshoe shaped walkway made of glass so you could see right through it and so high up Reyna could see birds circling under her feet.

Seeing the birds stirred something strange in Reyna. Her head began to hurt. She fingered at her pendant and realized something she’d missed before. It wasn’t just a pendant but a whistle, though it didn’t look anything like Hedge’s whistle. This was a bronze color, with a horse’s head molded to one end so the noise traveled out the horse’s mouth. There was something engraved on it but it wasn’t English and Reyna’s dyslexia made it hard for her to read. She gave it an experimental blow, but no sound came out. For some reason, that made Reyna feel very hallow inside.

“Piper! There you are! Don’t you know it’s rude to keep your partner waiting?” Dylan came over and swept her away again, despite her protests, this time bumping into Reyna a little to hard to be an accident as he went.

“That can’t be safe.” Leo said, squinting at the clouds “Storm’s right over us, but it’s clear all the way around. Weird huh?”

Reyna looked up and saw that Leo was right. A dark circle of clouds had parked itself over the skywalk but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly clear. Reyna had a bad feeling about that but Leo didn’t give it much through. He was pulling out pipe cleaners and building a model helicopter with them.

“Listen, Leo, I need you to answer some questions for me.”

“Shoot.” He said, though he continues working

Reyna hesitated. There were so many things she needed to know where did she even start. “When’s my birthday? Am I fifteen or sixteen?” She decided

Leo snorted “Are you for real? You really that checked out of it?”

“Just answer the question, please.”

Leo thought for a moment and his impish grim faded “You must not have told me. Besides, I’m ADHD, you really can’t expect me to remember details.” He decided

“Okay. Um, where am I from? Do I have any siblings? What did I do to get sent to this school?”

With each question, Leo’s expression got more and more distraught. His frown deepened, his eyebrows knit together, he was thinking hard but not finding any answers. He kept his eyes on his helicopter, his hands working faster and faster. Finally he raised his eyes to Reyna’s and her stomach fell out from under her.

“You don’t know who I am either.”

“No. I… I _do_ know you.” He insisted. He threw his helicopter over the railing. To Reyna’s surprise the pipe cleaner blades actually spun and it made it halfway across the canyon before it sputtered and fell to it’s doom but Leo didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve known you for months. We started here together. You keep me and Piper from doing dumb stuff. Well, you try. You always wear your hair in a braid. You…” He shook his head “You just didn’t talk much about yourself, okay?” But he said it like he was trying to convince himself as well. 

Reyna scanned the skywalk. The school had it to themselves which Reyna thought dimly showed impressive clout for a school for delinquents. About fifty feet away, Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner Dylan was hitting on her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile. Piper kept pushing him away and when she caught Reyna’s eye she gave her a look that said _I am this close to chucking this guy off the skywalk._ Reyna thought she wouldn’t mind seeing that but then she spotted the one person she really wanted to talk to and made a beeline.

Coach Hedge was leaning on his baseball bat, scowling at the storm clouds like they bothered him too. “Did you do this?” He grumbled as Reyna approached

Reyna blinked. It sounded like he’d just asked if she’d caused a thunderstorm but that couldn’t be right. “Do what?”

“Don’t play with me, cupcake. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?”

“Your job?” Reyna asked. It didn’t sound like he meant teaching.

“You got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can‘t fool me. A half-blood shows up unannounced on my schoolbus, I’ll liable to notice. So, are you the special package or what?”

A sharp pain erupted in Reyna’s head, like a massive brainfreeze. Most of what the coach said made no sense. “Okay could we take a step back here? You’re throwing around a lot of terms I don’t understand. Wait unannounced? You mean you don’t know who I am?”

“Never seen you before today.”

“I knew it.”

The coach narrowed his beady eyes at her “So, who are you?”

Reyna opened her mouth to respond, then stopped herself. Could she trust this man? She figured at this point she didn’t have anything to lose, whatever cover she was trying to keep had already bee blown. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that sir. My memories are missing. I don’t know who I am.”

Hedge straightened a bit at being called “sir” and studied her face carefully, like he was trying to read her mind. “Great.” He numbered “You’re being truthful.”

Reyna sighed “What would the advantage of lying be? You seem to know more than I do at this point. What’s this about a mist?”

Hedge looked at the storm. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, hovering right over the skywalk.

“Look, kid,” Hedge said, “I don‘t know who you are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect three of you rather than two. Are you the special package? Is that it?”

“I’m sorry maybe I wasn’t clear before.” Reyna said, not feeling at all spry but starting to feel distinctly irritable that this man wouldn’t give her a straight answer “I don’t know who I am. Much less anything about a ‘package’ or a ‘mist’ or a ‘half-blood’. Will you please just explain to me what is going on!”

She hadn’t meant to yell, but it carried across the skywalk anyway. Other students looked over and snickered. Dylan in particular had

“Easy there, cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I‘ll just have to watch you, too, until the team gets here. We‘ll let the director figure things out.” Hedge said “As for what’s going on, I’m a little in the dark on that myself. All I know is this morning I got a message from camp, saying an extraction team is on the way. They‘re coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn‘t give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I‘m watching are pretty powerful, older than most. I know they‘re being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that‘s why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you pop up out of nowhere. So I figure you must be the package.”

“But what camp? And what--“

“Just sit tight for now. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before—”

Lightning crackled overhead. The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Canyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails.

“I had to say something,” Hedge grumbled. He bellowed into his megaphone: “Everyone inside! The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!”

It was chaos on the skybridge. Kids screamed as they ran for the museum, the wind fighting them and ripping away anything that wasn’t nailed down. The storm had escalated into a mini hurricane with cloud tunnels travelling down towards them, looking like tentacles on an awful sea monster. Leo lost his balance and almost toppled over the railing, but Reyna grabbed his jacket and pulled him back.

“Thanks man!” he yelled over the wind

“You need to get inside now!” Reyna ordered, giving him a shove in the direction of Piper and Dylan, who were holding the doors open for the other students. Running against the wind was hard, and the three of them didn’t make it in time before their grip gave in and the doors slammed shut.

 _We’re cornered._ Reyna thought wildly. _But from what?_

Piper tried to pry the doors open but to no avail. “Dylan!” she cried “Help me!”

But Dylan just gave his superman grin, like he was suddenly enjoying the storm. “Sorry Piper. But I’m done helping.”

“Piper get out of there!” Reyna yelled but it was no use. Dylan flicked his wrist and Piper went flying backwards, slamming into the doors and sliding to the deck.

Anger roared in Reyna’s ears. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the can of mace, thinking she should’ve done this from the start. But before she could charge she felt a strong grip holing her back.

“Oh no you don’t, cupcake.” Coach Hedge said gruffly “You two stay behind me. This is my fight. I should’ve known he was our monster.”

“What?” Leo demanded. A rogue worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it away. “What monster?”

The coach‘s cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps—like the knots cartoon characters get when they‘re bonked on the head. Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat—but it wasn‘t a regular bat anymore. Somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached.

Dylan let out an evil cackle that sounded like storm wind past your window at night. “You think you can protect three half-bloods at once old man? Good luck!”

He flicked his wrist again and this time Leo went flying, skidding across the skywalk like a stone skipping across a lake until he disappeared over the side altogether. Reyna screamed, but it wasn’t out of fear. Dylan—or whatever his real name was—was just toying with her friends. Her anger doubled, blood pounded in her ears.

She heard Leo calling for help and Coach Hedge handing her his club and telling her to hold him off while he rescued him, she was even aware of them he took of his shoes to reveal goat hooves and went climbing down the cliff face with impossible agility. But all that seemed far away to her. The only thing that was real to her in that moment was the enemy in front of her. She saw Piper struggling to stand up and decided on a plan.

She charged Dylan, screaming like a madwoman. Before he had the chance to send her flying like her friends, she chucked the club as hard as she could at Dylan’s head. He dodged it easily but the distraction bought Reyna enough time to get in close to him. She whipped out the mace and pressed down on the trigger, aiming for his icy blue eyes.

But when she did no mace came out. Instead the can grew in her hand, heavier and longer. Dylan’s eyes widened and he dodged out of the way with a yelp of surprise. Reyna was too stunned to react because suddenly she was holding a six foot long spear with a golden tip.

“Oh ho! So you’re a tricky one, ey girlie?” Dylan mocked. There was a cut across his forehead where the tip of her spear had grazed him and from the wound flowed golden blood. “Looks like I’ll have to take this seriously after all.”

As he said that, his body changed. It dissolved into a swirling black cloud with black wings raising above him, his eyes empty sockets of electricity. He looked like a…

“Ventus. An evil storm spirit” Reyna said, unsure how she knew that

Dylan‘s laugh sounded like a tornado tearing off a roof. “I‘m glad I waited, demigod. Leo and Piper I‘ve known about for weeks. Could‘ve killed them at any time. But my mistress said a third was coming—someone special. She‘ll reward me greatly for your death!”

Behind him Piper was getting to her feet, Hedge’s club gripped tightly in her hand. Her eyes were full of fear but she nodded at Reyna and she knew what she was thinking. “You have to kill me first!” Reyna said, sounding braver than she felt “And you’ve done a poor job of that so far. I’ve drawn first blood here, monster. Do you really think you can defeat me?”

Dylan sneered and raised his hand. Reyna saw the smallest spark of blue between his fingers and time slowed down. She leapt to the side and rolled across the skywalk, coming up kneeling. The spot where she had been standing a second before was now covered in scorch marks and the distinct smell of burnt ozone hung in the air.

 _Lighting_ Reyna thought. But how had she—

She didn’t have time to question it as Dylan wailed in frustration and two other ventus—venti?—appeared next to him. He ordered them to kill her but with Reyna’s spear in hand that was easier said than done. Time slowed down around her. A side step here, a thrust there, it was amazing how naturally all this came to her. Like she had been doing it all her life. In no time at all every spirit Dylan had summoned had been reduced to golden dust in the wind.

She’d forgotten all about Piper until she heard her scream in defiance as she swung the tree branch club at Dylan’s head. But Dylan dodged the blow easily and all Piper had done was make him angrier.

“Why won’t you just DIE!” He screamed as he thrust both his hands out. A hurricane strength wind slammed into the girls and send them sailing right over the edge of the canyon. Reyna just had time to notice Coach Hedge and Leo finally reaching the top of the cliff before she was plummeting to her death.

Reyna wasn’t sure if the force of the wind had knocked the breath out of her or the air her lungs was being ripped out as she fell but either way she couldn’t breath. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Piper plummeting to her doom along with her. She was going to die and it was her fault. Her life didn’t flash before her eyes but then again she didn’t remember her life to begin with. She felt hallow. She closed her eyes and prepared for the end.

Then she heard a horse whinnying and felt herself connect with something solid. She’d expected the next thing she felt to be the canyon floor but this was… she reached out her hand and felt fine hair and muscular flesh. So, not a canyon floor. She opened her eyes and gasped.

She was sitting on a horse. A beautiful warhorse the color of peanut butter with wings that spread out ten feet on either side of them, keeping then aloft in the sky hundreds of feet up. A pegasus. Reyna didn’t trust her mouth to form complete sentences at the moment so she just reached out a tentative hand and stroked his soft mane. The pegasus gave a snort, like he was pleased with the attention but they had other things to worry about just then.

She looked back and saw Piper seated behind her, looking even more stunned than Reyna was sure she did. “Uh—but—wha…” Piper stuttered, not that Reyna could blame her “How did he..?”

“I think… I think I called him here.” Reyna said, suddenly sure of it. A clap of thunder drew her attention upward to the storm clouds still swirling over the skywalk, so dark they were nearly black. “Listen, Piper, Hedge and Leo are still up there. We— _I_ have to go back.”

She and the horse exchanged a look, there was an intelligence in his eyes that assured Reyna he knew what to do and he would not disappoint her. Then she felt Piper’s hand close around hers, she looked back and saw a fierce determination in Pipers ever-changing eyes. She was scared, but she was not going to let that stop her. Reyna couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Let’s kick his butt.” She told the Pegasus. He whinnied like he liked that idea and they soared upward.

They got there just in time to see the storm clouds dissipate. Leo was groaning on the skywalk but there was no sign of Dylan or Coach Hedge anywhere.

Reyna directed the steed to land on shywalk, he responded to her commands with remarkable ease, and as soon as they’d landed Piper hoped off and ran to Leo. She turned Leo over, and he groaned. His army coat was soaked from the rain. His curly hair glittered gold from rolling around in monster dust. But at least he wasn‘t dead.

“Stupid … ugly … goat.” he muttered.

“What happened?” Piper asked.

“I don’t know, man! He was talking about his mistress and a war and then a hole in the cloud opened up. He said he would take a demigod… whatever the hell that means… and suddenly I was sky born.” He sighed, clearly having a hard time processing “Coach pushed me out of the way. He flew up and never came down. Please tell me he didn’t actually save my life.”

“Twice.” Reyna confirmed grimly

Leo groaned again. He looked at Reyna pleadingly “What is going on?”

Piper shivered in her rain-soaked clothes. “Reyna, those… things. You acted like … like you‘d seen them before. Who are you?”

“I wish I knew.” Was all Reyna could say. It was true, but even so Reyna couldn’t shake the feeling that she _should_ know what was going. Fighting those monsters had given her such strong déjà vu it made her head hurt.

“The tornado guy… spears… is that a fucking pegasus? Am I going insane?” Leo continued

The pegasus pressed his nose into Reyna’s back. At first she thought he was trying to get her attention, then she realized he was going for the pocket where she had her jelly beans stashed.

“Alright.” She laughed. She took out the bag and fed him a handful “Good work out there.” She told him. He nuzzled into her and, for just a moment, all Reyna’s worries melted away.

Then the pegasus pulled away from her suddenly, like something had spooked him. His ears were flicked back, listening intensely. Reyna tried to reach out to calm him but before she got close he took off into the sky and was out of sight before Reyna could blink. Reyna was left staring at empty sky feeling very hallow and very abandoned.

“Yup. Definitely going insane.” Leo decided

“Hey look! He’s coming back!” Piper cried “And he brought… friends?”

Reyna peered up above and saw a dark shape descending from the east—too low for a plane. Pegasi, three gray and one black were coming in for a landing and they were pulling a brightly painted chariot with two wheels: a chariot.

Piper cleared her throat next to her “Reyna.” She whispered “The spear.”

Reyna had forgotten about the spear. She was mildly surprised she hadn’t dropped it when she fell. But she got Piper’s drift, whether these were friends or foe it would be better if they didn’t know she was armed. But what could she do? She stared at the spear and wished it would turn back into a can of mace again. To her utter shock, it actually worked and Reyna stuffed the can in her pocket just as the chariot landed and two teenagers hoped out.

They both boys and both wore orange T-shirts and jeans. One was blond, a little younger than Reyna, with a bow and quiver full of arrows on his back. But it was the other boy the one driving the chariot, that really caught Reyna attention. He was handsome, Reyna supposed, though his face was tense and his green eyes were searching desperately and his black hair had a streak of gray in it despite him only looking perhaps a year older than Reyna. None of that was what struck her about him. She was sure that she had seen him before.

He jumped off the chariot and demanded “Where is she?”

“Where is who?” Reyna said. She saw no recognition in his eyes and that worried her.

He looked like Reyna had just slapped him. His eyes were so full of worry Reyna couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. “Annabeth!” he yelled across the skywalk, as though he was calling to someone he thought might be invisible.

“What about your protector?” The blond guy tried “Gleeson Hedge?”

“Coach’s first name is Gleeson?” Piper piped up

“Who cares what his name is. He’s half freaking goat!” Leo retorted

“A satyr.” The black haired boy said fondly “They’re stationed in schools all over the country, keeping an eye out for half-bloods.”

Piper stiffened next to her “Half-blood?” she said in an accusing tone, as if he had offended her

The skywalk creaked under them and they were reminded what unstable footing they were on. The other kids from the Wilderness School were staring out the glass doors in horror. Security guards were working on the locks now, but they didn‘t seem to be having any luck. The horses whinnied concernedly at the black haired boy.

“We don’t have time for this.” He said “Please just get in the chariot and we’ll explain on the way.” He tried to run off then, probably to search more for this Annabeth person he thought might be there, but the blond guy grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Look Percy.” He said urgently, pointing to Reyna “The girl with the horse’s head.”

Reyna looked down and fingered the horsehead whistle, not wanting him to see it. For some reason, she was sure that the Pegasus had ran off because of Percy’s arrival. He must’ve spooked him somehow, or maybe he was intimidated that he had more pegasi. Either way a pool of resentment churned in her stomach.

Percy raised an eyebrow “A Pegasus whistle? Those are rare. Like, really rare. Where did you get that?”

Reyna tried to answer but the blond guy cut her off.

“Does it matter?” the he said “She’s the answer.”

“But… Will…” Percy tried to protest

“Prophecies, visions, messages from the gods, these things are rarely straightforward. As I know you know.”

Percy looked like he wanted to argue more. He seemed restless and tired at the same time. Finally he stamped his foot in frustration. Which Reyna didn’t think was a good idea given where they were standing but decided not to argue.

“I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.” He said, weariness in his voice “Alright, come on.” He made his way back to the chariot, where the pegasi seemed relieved to be leaving so soon.

Nobody else moved.

“Where are we going exactly?” Piper asked

“And what happens if we say no?” Leo followed up

“Camp Half-Blood.” Will said “We’ll explain more on the way but it’s a safe place for people like us. Those monsters that attacked you won’t be able to reach you there.”

Reyna nodded, but Piper and Leo still looked unconvinced. “What? You want to fall down the Grand Canyon twice in one day? Be my guest.” She told them and that got them moving.

“That boy.” She asked Will as they walked towards the chariot “Who is he?”

“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s been glum ever since his girlfriend—”

“Annabeth?” Reyna guessed.

Will nodded “She been missing for three days.”


	2. Piper

After a morning of storm spirit’s, goat men, and flying horses, Piper should‘ve been losing her mind. Instead, all she felt was dread.

 _It‘s starting_ , she thought. _Just like the dream said._

She stood in back of the chariot with Leo and Reyna. While Percy handled the reigns, Will kept an eye out for incoming monster attacks. He kept an arrow notched just in case, which made it hard to relax. Well, harder than at already was to relax in a rickety chariot with no seatbelts and an open back that somehow bumped along open air.

Reyna stood with her back to piper and stared out across the sky. If the cold bothered her she didn’t show it. Her long black braid blew in the wind and made her look even more regal and majestic than she usually did. Reyna carried herself so much like a queen at times Piper had to fight the urge to bow as she passed. Her back was always straight and her chin was always high and she spoke with authority and a Puerto Rican accent. She had these intense black eyes that seemed to look right through Piper sometimes, as if she was always trying to pick apart her defenses, identify her weaknesses and determine the best strategy for taking her down in a fight.

When Piper had looked into those eyes this morning and seen a flash of fear, like cornered animal, she knew something had to be deeply wrong. She wasn’t all that surprised when she admitted her amnesia.

Piper hadn’t told anyone about her dream three nights ago. That awful voice giving her awful news. Now she wished she had told Reyna after all. Reyna was a good friend, but she was the type to tell you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted and Piper was afraid of what she’d say. Piper was embarrassed to admit it now but it felt like if she told anyone about the voice in her dream it would make it real.

“Do I know you?” Reyna asked Percy in a carefully neutral voice

Percy shook his head. “Never seen you before. Sorry.”

“Your face is familiar.” She insisted

Percy thought for a second. Piper could tell he wasn’t trying to hold anything back but was clearly distracted “Maybe you saw me on the news? I’ve been the subject of a couple nation-wide manhunts.” He said like it was normal. Who the hell were these people?

Reyna frowned like that wasn’t right but didn’t argue.

Things went awkwardly silent again until a strange, low sound rang out and Piper saw Reyna was blowing on that horsehead pendent she wore. When nothing happened she glared at Percy out of the corner of her eye and Piper knew she suspected the same thing Piper did. Somehow, Percy had scared the peanut-butter colored pegasus away. He wouldn’t show up as long as he was around.

“What did you call this again?” she asked

Percy seemed glad for something to talk about. Like he needed a distraction “A pegasus whistle.” He said, “They’re really rare because each one has to be specially created to summon one specific pegasus.”

“Then why isn’t it working?” Reyna demanded

Percy only shrugged “I don’t know. Trust me, I wish it did. Maybe he could answer a few of my questions.”

A tension hung in the air which, as usual, Leo didn’t seem to notice. “Wait hang on. Did you just say you wanted to _interrogate_ her horse?”

The black Pegasus whinnied and Percy blushed. Piper tried not to laugh inspite of herself at the image of that horse and Percy sitting on opposite sides of a table in a police interrogation room.

_“Tell me where you hid the hay and maybe I’ll go easy on you.”_

She wondered if he played good cop or bad cop.

“Maybe we should back up a bit?” Will suggested

“Right. Where are you taking us exactly?” Reyna said

“Camp Half-Blood.” Percy said, which made Piper tense.

“Half _what?”_ She demanded. She‘d been called a half-blood too many times—half Cherokee, half white—and it was never a compliment.

Percy grimaced, like this was a conversation he’d rather not have “Listen, I know this hard to take in but—"

“God.” Reyna spoke softly but, as usual, when she spoke people listened.

Percy raised an eyebrow “Reyna, how did you know that?”

She was still for a second, then shrugged her shoulders. “The venti called me a demigod. That’s what that word means, right? Half mortal, half god.”

Piper shivered remembering Dylan’s monstrous form and eyes of pure electricity. She couldn’t believe he’d been hitting on her.

Percy looked confused “Venti? Isn’t that a coffee drink?”

“I think she means the storm spirits.” Will supplied

“Oh. Right, I knew that.” Percy said “But anyway, yeah, long story short the gods and real and sometimes they have kids with mortals who tend to attract monsters. My dad’s Poseidon, god of the sea. He also created horses so I can actually talk to them.”

The black pegasus whinnied again.

“Trust me, it’s not always as fun as it sounds.”

This time Piper could’ve sworn the whinnies sounded like laughter.

“My old man’s Apollo.” Will explained “God of medicine, prophecies, archery, music, blah blah blah. Uh, not necessarily in that order.”

“Demigods,” Piper said. “You mean you think you‘re … you think we‘re—"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Reyna yelled, “Left wheel‘s on fire!”

Piper stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot. Leo yelped and moved as far away from the flames as possible.

“Oh, come on!” Percy yelled at the sky like he’d just gotten cut off in traffic “I thought this was neutral territory!”

“Uh, that might not have been him actually.” Will said, drawing his arrow finally “We’ve got storm sprits closing in!”

Piper glanced behind them and sure enough she saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses than angels. She bit back a scream all the same.

Will let lose a volley of arrows, three at once, and a couple spirits dissolved but they were still badly outnumbered. 

“I don’t know if I can—"

“Blackjack, can you—” the black pegasus snorted like he was insulted Percy was asking “You’re the man Blackjack!”

The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Piper‘s stomach crawled into her throat. Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.

A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Piper saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before she could really process all she was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.

The pegasi tried their best but whether it was the burst of speed exhausting them or the weight of five teens it was clear they were heading down. Percy pulled the reigns, his face tight, and aimed for the lake. Piper remembered her dad telling her how hitting water from high up was as bad as hitting cement and braced for an impact that never came.

When she opened her eyes again, she was underwater in the biggest bubble she had ever seen. Percy had his arms outstretched, straining with effort. All five of them, the chariot, the pegasi, everything, he had shielded them from the impact.

“Can’t… hold it.” Percy just managed before the bubble burst. Literally.

They all came up on the shore coughing and gasping for air. The pegasi were shaking water off themselves, flapping their wet wings and splashing water at each other. Percy seemed fine if a little tired. He wasn’t even wet when he stepped out of the lake, which was impossible but at that point Piper couldn’t even be bothered.

They were greeted by a crowd of campers, all in orange T-shirts like Percy’s, waiting for them on the beach. Apparently kids fell into the lake a lot, because a detail of campers ran up with big bronze leaf blower–looking things and blasted Piper with hot air; and in about two seconds her clothes were dry. The chariot washed ashore, banged up and missing a wheel but still in one piece somehow.

“Oh thank the gods.” Will muttered

An uncomfortable silence descended over the beach after that. Everyone was staring at them and Pier realized with a lurch in her stomach they were hoping to see Annabeth with them.

“Well?” Came a deep, commanding voice belonging to an incredibly buff girl in the crowd wearing a jean vest and bandana

Percy shook his head miserably. The girl’s face twisted at that like it was a dire insult. Whispering broke out among the other campers. Whoever this Annabeth was, her disappearance was a big deal.

“Well,” an Asian girl piped up from the crowd “I certainly hope they’re worth the trouble.”

“Shut up, Drew!” The buff girl snapped but she looked like she was thinking the same thing.

She glanced at Piper and Leo then locked eyes with Reyna. She marched across the beach towards them.

“Clarisse.” Percy said. A warning.

But Reyna held out her arm, silently telling him not to interfere. Clarisse circled around Reyna, like a predator sizing up her prey. Reyna never broke eye contact, never shrunk from her gaze. Whatever challenge Clarisse was issuing Reyna made clear she would meet it head on. Finally Clarisse stepped back and grunted, seemingly satisfied.

Her eyes then turned to Percy. “They’re way older than thirteen. Why haven’t they been claimed.” She said like it was his fault somehow.

“What’s claiming?” Piper asked, feeling like she was missing something.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. At first Piper thought she‘d done something wrong. Then she realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her. She turned and almost forgot how to breathe.

Floating over Leo‘s head was a blazing holographic image —a fiery hammer.

“That,” Clarisse said, like Piper was an idiot “is claiming.”

“What‘d I do?” Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. “Is my hair on fire?” He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.

“Of course.” Reyna said “You’re a son of Vulcan.”

“What?” Leo demanded “But I don’t even like Star Trek.”

“Not them. The god of blacksmiths and fire!” Reyna said in a similar tone to what Clarisse just used “That must be why you’re so good with tools.” Then she noticed everyone was staring at her

“Reyna, how did you know that?” Percy asked for the second time

Reyna looked around defensively and shrugged “Am I not supposed to?”

Percy’s eyebrows furrowed “I mean… I guess it’s not a secret. But…” He trailed off but Piper could tell they were thinking the same thing.

“Percy. Why don’t you give me a tour of the place?” she blurted out “I think we need to talk.”

“Oh _puh_ -lease.” Drew’s voice came from the crowd “As if you’re in his league.”

Piper’s face went red as she realized she’d just asked to spend time alone with a hot guy. A hot guy who was currently desperately searching for his girlfriend.

“Drew what the hell?” Percy asked. The crowd gave a big laugh. He sounded so genuinely confused that Piper wasn’t sure she should be relieved or embarrassed she was apparently so beneath his notice.

“Sure I’ll give you the tour.” He agreed, and Piper wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse “Will would you mind showing Leo around?”

“No problem.”

Percy gave him a thumbs up “And Reyna…” He saw Clarisse was still next to her and frowned. “I think you should go to the Big House. Chiron will want to see you.”

“Is that an order?” Reyna asked

Percy raised an eyebrow “No. But—”

“Then there’s something I’d like to do first.” She turned to Clarisse “Do me a favor and fight me.”

The crowd erupted into a mix of laughter and whooping. Several body building teens with crooked noses and teeth she swarmed around Clarisse and Reyna. Clarisse smiled at Reyna amused.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for, girlie. You know who my dad is? Ares, god of war. I’m the best fighter in this entire camp. You think you can go toe-to-toe with that, little girl?”

“Seriously, Reyna, it’s not prison rules here.” Percy added “And Clarisse…” he trailed off but Piper got the sense there was some bad blood there

Reyna studied both of them curiously before speaking “Perhaps this is a battle I cannot win. But whether I can or can’t, I should like to know.”

“Reyna—”

“Percy.” She silenced him “This morning I awoke with no memory of my life. Two hours later I fought three venti. And won. One tried to strike me with lighting and I avoided the blast. Now perhaps that was blind combat instinct keeping me alive. Perhaps it was only luck or a fluke. Or perhaps—”

“It was training.” Clarisse finished, sounding a bit impressed

Reyna nodded “In any case, I should like the chance to test the extent of my combat ability.”

Clarisse broke out laughing “I’m calling it now. This one’s an Ares kid. You can practically smell it on her.”

A couple of the ugly body builders muttered around them. Piper realized with a start they must be Clarisse’s siblings.

“Nah, she talks like an Athena kid.” One said

“She dosen’t look anything like an Athena kid, you idiot.”

“Who you calling an idiot.”

“You, idiot!”

“Enough!” Clarisse roared and her siblings went silent. She turned her eyes back to Reyna “Alright, girlie. I’ll fight you. If you want to get pulverized that badly it’s not my problem. Chris, babe, go grab a spear from the armory. She’s a size eight if I’ve ever seen one.”

“That’s not necessary.” Reyna said as she took out her can of mace and pressed the trigger. Instantly it transformed into a six foot long spear, the tip made of solid gold.

“Okay, where did you get _that?”_ Percy asked in disbelief. Which, considering what this guy apparently considered normal was really saying something.

“What part of amnesia did you not understand?” Reyna snapped. The children of Ares around her snickered at him.

“Come on.” Piper said, pulling him away “She’s made her choice.”

He led Piper away as a pack of Clarisse’s siblings encircled the two of them. Reyna didn’t look the least bit bothered. As always her back was straight and her chin was high. Still, it was hard not to picture her as a brave but stupid human who’d just challenged an alpha wolf and was about to be torn apart by her pack.

As promised, Percy showed her the sights around Camp Half-Blood but it was clear he was distracted. They passed by a lava spewing rock climbing wall, girls would occasionally melt out of trees and walk by and as they walked Percy explained about gods and monsters and saytrs and other crazy stuff but his eyes were a million miles away. Piper didn’t try to snap him out of it. The more he talked the deeper her stomach fell and the more the voice from her dream echoed in her head.

Every time they passed a group of campers they’d wave to Percy, and he’d wave back, but as soon as they’d passed whispering would break out. They’d see Percy walking around with this new girl and put together the pieces about Annabeth. The air grew tenser as they walked.

“Seems Annabeth as pretty popular around here.” Piper observed

Percy smiled at the mention of his girlfriend “She’s been here since she was seven. That’s longer than anyone else here. She knows everyone and everything that happens in this place. Even if you wanted to ignore her, and trust me I’ve tried, it’s pretty hard to do.”

“Hey.” He said, finally noticing the look on her face “Are you okay?”

Piper looked away and mumbled something about a shock.

Percy smiled sympathetically “Hey, we’ve all been there. One of the perks of this place is everyone’s kinda dealing with the same stuff, you know?”

He was trying to make her feel better but even as he said it Piper tell he didn’t fully believe it. It made her wonder what other kinds of problems came with being a demigod besides terrible nightmares and monster attacks. 

“So, if mom was a goddess,” she tried “Do you know which one?”

Percy shook his head no “See, that’s what claiming is for. The only way to know for sure who your godly parent is is if they send a sign and claim you as their child. It should be soon. No one goes more than three days without being claimed once they arrive to camp anymore. That’s the deal.”

“What deal?”

Percy looked away bashful “See, they kinda owed me one after I saved Olympus last year—long story—and it was either make me immortal or be better parents.”

Piper blinked “Are you that much of a pain in the ass?” she said before she could stop herself

Percy blinked in surprise and for a split-second Piper wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole but then Percy burst out laughing. The worry and restlessness melted off him and Piper realized just how much Annabeth’s disappearance must be weighing on him. She managed a laugh herself but she couldn’t help feeling sorry for the poor dolt as she did.

“Oh man! I fucking wish that’s how it went down. Can you imagine? Please, we’ll do anything, just promise you’ll die! Hahaha!” For a second after Percy stopped laughing he seemed cheered up, ready to take on the day. Then his smile faded and he seemed tired again. The streak of gray in his black hair seemed more prominent.

“What are the gods like as parents anyway? If I do something bad, am I gonna get grounded to the Underworld?” Piper tried again to cheer him up

“Uh, actually…” Percy trailed off and Piper sensed the Underworld might not be the best subject for a guy who’s girlfriend just vanished under mysterious circumstances.

“She’s not dead.” Percy said, as if reading her thoughts “Nico promised to tell me if she showed up in the Underworld.”

“Nico?”

“Nico Di Angelo. He’s the son of Hades.” Percy clarified. He didn’t elaborate but Piper sensed some uneasiness around the subject and decided not to pry.

“Hey do you have a phone I can borrow?” she opted to change the subject “I should probably let my dad know where I am.”

Percy shook his head “Cell phones can be dangerous for half-bloods. Amplifies our smell.”

“How?”

“I have no idea. But I do have a friend who has a phone you can borrow.”

He led her up to a cave near the top of the hill. Bones and old swords littered the ground. Torches flanked the entrance, which was covered in a velvet curtain embroidered with snakes. It looked like the set for some kind of twisted puppet show.

“Your friend lives here?” She asked, not sure if it would make it better or worse if he said no

“Listen, sometimes you have an aesthetic and you just have to live by it.” Percy joked “She’s our Oracle, she tells prophecies of the future.”

“Lottery numbers?”

Percy chuckled “I like your style. But no such luck. Prophecies usually only make sense after they’ve come to pass and they’re never that specific.”

Piper remembered Will had said something to Percy about prophecies to get him to calm down on the skywalk. She wondered how much experience Percy had with prophecies but before she could ask Percy pulled back the velvet curtain and revealed a surprisingly nice fully furnished apartment inside the cave. Inside a red-headed girl sat on a velvet sofa and scribbled in a drawing pad. When she looked up, her face brightened.

“Percy!” she ran up and wrapped him in a big hug “I got here as soon as I could. I’m so sorry. Was there any sign of her? Did Mr. Chase call you back? What about Grover? Oh, he’s got to be so worried.” She spoke in rapid, punching sentences, one right after the other.

“It’s good to see you, Rachel.” Percy managed a smile for her. They talked for a minute about how there was no news and mentioned something about a “plan B” before they seemed to remember Piper was there.

“Uh, Rachel—Piper, Piper—Rachel. She just got in today. Do you think she could borrow your phone and call home?”

“Of course. ” Rachel gave her a smile and handed her phone over. As Piper dialed the number, she led Percy deeper into the cave and they started having a hushed conversation.

She called her dad‘s private line, even though she knew what would happen. Voice mail. She‘d been trying for three days, ever since the dream. Wilderness School only allowed phone privileges once a day, but she‘d called every evening, and gotten nowhere.

Reluctantly she dialed the other number. Her dad‘s personal assistant answered immediately. “Mr. McLean‘s office.”

“Jane,” Piper said, gritting her teeth. “Where‘s my dad?”

Jane was silent for a moment, probably wondering if she could get away with hanging up. “Piper, I thought you weren‘t supposed to call from school.”

“Maybe I‘m not at school,” Piper said. “Maybe I ran away to live among the woodland creatures.”

“Mmm.” Jane didn‘t sound concerned. “Well, I‘ll tell him you called.”

“Where is he?”

“Out.”

“You don‘t know, do you?” Piper accused “When are you going to call the police, Jane? He could be in trouble.”

“Piper, we are not going to turn this into a media circus. I‘m sure he‘s fine. He does take off occasionally. He always comes back.”

“So it‘s true. You don’t know—”

“I have to go, Piper,” Jane snapped. “Enjoy school.”

The line went dead. Piper cursed.

“—Dosen’t make any sense.” Percy was saying “How is she supposed to lead me to Annabeth if she dosen’t even know who she is? And that’s not the weirdest thing about her.”

“You guys talking about Reyna?” Piper said before she thought better

Percy looked away embarrassed but Rachel managed a forced smile “Percy was just telling me about what happened this morning.”

“You think Reyna will lead you to Annabeth.” Piper pressed

Percy sighed “That’s what Hera told me, anyway.”

“Hera? Queen of the gods?”

Percy nodded “That’s her. See, the last month the gods haven’t talking to us. Kids still get claimed but that’s about it. The Annabeth disappears. Something really bad is happening, we just don’t know what. And then Hera appeared to me in my dream. She told me I’d find Annabeth if I go to the Grand Canyon and bring the girl with the horse’s head back here. Now, she and Annabeth aren’t exactly BFFs but that was the first communication we’ve had with the gods in a months. Why would it be to send me on a wild goose chase?”

“It wasn’t a wild goose chase, Percy. Reyna must figure into this somehow, I’m sure of it.” Rachel said with confidence, here eyes flicked over to Pier and suddenly she felt like a bug under a microscope “In the meantime, Piper, why don’t you tell us more about Reyna. There might be a clue in her past. I know she dosen’t remember it, but you’re her friend. You must know something.”

Piper tried to tell them but the more she tried the more she realized she knew frustratingly little about Reyna. It was like an optical illusion in her brain. If she didn’t think about it, Reyna was there, but the more she tried to remember specifics the less of her there seemed to be to remember. With every shake of the head and “She must have told me, but…” Rachel’s eyebrows knit closer together. Finally she laid her hand ontop of Pipers in a gesture that scared Piper more than it comforted her.

“Piper I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think you knew Reyna at all before today.” She said

“Don’t make fun of me.” Piper snapped “This is embarrassing enough as it is.”

“No. No, I mean… Listen, Percy told you about the Mist right? Well it’s not just what people see, sometimes it makes people remember things differently too. Anything to help people explain the unexplainable.”

“But I’m a demigod.” Piper protested “I see through the Mist.”

“Demigods can be affected too.” She looked to Percy for backup “Remember freshman orientation?”

Percy nodded “Rachel sees through the Mist even better than half-bloods do. I would’ve been killed without her.”

Rachel allowed herself a moment to look proud at that before turning her attention back to Piper. “Trust me. When dealing with the gods, nothing is off the table.”

“But… But… But if Reyna dosen’t know who she is, and my memories of her are fake… I mean what, it’s not like she just materialized on our bus this morning!”

Rachel could only shake her head “I don’t know what really happened. All I can tell is what didn’t.”

“Annabeth would know. She knew everything.” Percy said with certainty 

“Something bad is happening,” Rachel agreed. She looked at Piper, and Piper felt an overwhelming desire to tell them about her dream, to confess that she knew what was happening—at least part of the story. And the bad stuff was only beginning.

“Guys,” she said. “I—I need to—"

Before she could continue, Rachel‘s body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Piper by the shoulders.

Piper tried to back away, but Rachel‘s hands were like steel clamps.

 _Free me,_ she said. But it wasn‘t Rachel‘s voice. It sounded like an older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. _Free me, Piper McLean, or the earth shall swallow us. It must be by the solstice._

The room started spinning. Percy tried to separate Piper from Rachel, but it was no use. Green smoke enveloped them, and Piper was no longer sure if she was awake or dreaming. _Our enemies stir. The fiery one is only the first. Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. FREE ME!_

Piper‘s knees buckled, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out Leo dosen't mention Jason once in his first two chapters so I decided to pay double attention to Piper's chapters and just skip his altogether. We'll pick this up again with Reyna.  
> Also, I don't think this will come up in the story naturally so I'll say here that my thinking with Nico is that he's basically avoiding Percy becuase he has some mixed feelings about helping him.   
> This also wasn't explicitly stated but I figured Percy would ask Will to come with him to the Grand Canyon rather than Butch because 1. Will turns out to be a relevant character 2. Percy dosen't need any help with the pegasi 3. He's a good archer so he can keep monsters off their tail at further distances 4. In case Annabeth was alive but hurt it's probably a good idea to have a healer in your party.


	3. Reyna II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited for this chapter! It has a lot of original material that I've been wanting to get to for a while.

The duel with deadly weapons had started out pretty civilized.

Reyna and Clarisse circled around each other, trying to poke each other with pointy sticks and getting a sense for each others fighting style. They were fighting with no armor and no shields, which meant it would be entirely up to their own agility to keep them from being impaled. They also both had considerable reach, which meant getting in close for a better shot would be difficult to say the least.

Reyna tried to sweep low and knock Clarisse off balance, but she saw the attack coming and avoided it. Clarisse tried for a thrust but Reyna side-stepped.

All around them, Clarisse’s siblings had encircled them, cheering and jeering and generally making a lot of noise that Reyna did her best to block out. She gathered they wouldn’t take kindly if she tried to retreat but that was fine by Reyna. She might not know where she came from who even who she was, but she already knew she wasn’t one to run from a fight.

The sounds of their sticks deflecting each others blows rang out. Reyna was surprised how easily combat came to her. She could block and side-step and counter attack easily. The problem was trying to land a hit on her opponent. You’d think it would be easy with so little to protect her but Clarisse guarded perfectly. And she pressed Reyna hard, making it difficult to think.

Finally Clarisse got inside Reyna’s defenses and she had to dodge to avoid a spear to the face. Even so, she felt a warm trickle of blood down her face and a subsequent roar of anger in her ears.

“Ha!” Clarisse cried “First blood it mine! Yield!”

But Reyna did not yield. She didn’t even think. She growled like an animal and lunged.

She lobbed her spear at Clarisse for all she was worth. Clarisse knocked it aside easily but it bought Reyna enough time to get in close and make a grab for Clarisse’s own spear. They grappled and struggled for a moment but Clarisse had a grip of iron. So instead Reyna used the spear like a gymnastics pole and swung herself between Clarisse’s legs.

“Wha-“

Before she could react, Reyna had already tackled her from behind. Clarisse’s weapon was pinned uselessly beneath her own body as Reyna scrambled to pin her to the beach.

“Enough!” Clarisse bellowed

The nest thing Reyna knew she was trapped under Clarisse’s foot, her spear tip aimed at her throat. The anger that had filled her just a moment ago had faded. She had lost.

“I yield.” Reyna said

Clarisse nodded and helped her up. She was breathing hard but trying not to show it.

“That was… not bad.” She admitted. Which was about all she managed to say before her siblings started swarming them, whooping and cheering and telling Reyna how cool she was. She hadn’t won, but apparently she’d come closer than most.

The two met each others eyes and shared a nod.

“I kept waiting for you to make a mistake and leave yourself vulnerable.” Reyna said as she shrugged off her thin jacket. The cold December air felt wonderful on her sore, sweaty body. “So I suppose I had to make my own—”

“Whoa!” One of Clarisse’s brothers interrupted, grabbing at her arm “Is that a tattoo?”

“What?” But then Reyna saw what he was talking about.

She hadn’t noticed it before with her jacket on. But sure enough on the inside of her forearm was an intricate tattoo. A crossed sword and torch, four lines like a tally mark, and the letters SPQR. Dark, deeply etched, and impossible to miss.

“Looks almost like it was burned into your skin.” Clarisse noted with a frown, the joy from her victory faded from her face.

“They were.” Reyna said but as soon as she did she got massive brain freeze, like her brain was trying to access information that wasn’t there. “I mean… I think they were. I don’t remember.”

“Dude, that’s so sick.” One of the younger ones piped up. The other children of Ares around her didn’t seem so excited anymore. The marks seemed to really bother them. Like a declaration of war.

“Come on. You need to see Chiron immediately.” Clarisse decided and took off without stopping to make sure Reyna was following

The rest of the crowd didn’t follow except for the big Hispanic kid, Chris, who offered Reyna a bandage for her face, congratulated her on not getting skewered and spent the rest of the trip half-jogged next to Clarisse and they whispered amongst themselves. Reyna didn’t like to think Clarisse was hiding things from her, but it was clear she had seniority. She would follow her lead.

“Alright, here it is.” Clarisse said finally “The Big House. Camp Headquarters.”

It didn‘t look threatening, just a four-story manor painted baby blue with white trim. The wraparound porch had lounge chairs, a card table, and an empty wheelchair. Wind chimes shaped like nymphs turned into trees as they spun. Reyna could imagine old people coming here for summer vacation, sitting on the porch and sipping prune juice while they watched the sunset. Still, the windows seemed to glare down at her like angry eyes. The wide-open doorway looked ready to swallow her. On the highest gable, a bronze eagle weathervane spun in the wind and pointed straight in his direction, as if telling her to turn around.

Every molecule in Reyna‘s body told her she was on enemy ground.

“I can’t… I’m not…” Reyna stammered.

She fought the urge to turn and run then and there. Apparently fighting with spear didn’t frighten her one bit but an innocent blue house… god, this was embarrassing!

“Hey.” Chris put a comforting hand on her shoulder “It’s okay. You can trust Chiron. He’s a good guy. He’s dedicated his life to training heroes. And he…” He looked away, suddenly emotional. Clarisse put a hand on his shoulder and gave Reyna a death glare that promised worse than what she’d seen on the beach if she told anyone about this.

“He’s real good about second chances.” Chris finally managed “So whatever you think you’ve done that you don’t think you belong here. He’ll understand.”

“He’s also a pretty good healer. And he’s been around a while. If anyone’s likely to know how to treat your amnesia, he will.” Clarisse added

Reyna looked between the two of them and felt a twinge of shame at being so afraid. Then she heard footsteps on the front porch. No—not footsteps—hooves.

“Chiron!” Chris called “Hey, we’ve got a new camper for you to meet!”

Reyna’s eyes bulged so much they risked popping out of her head. Rounding the corner of the porch was a man on horseback. Except he wasn‘t on horseback—he was part of the horse. From the waist up he was human, with curly brown hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore a T-shirt that said World‟s Best Centaur, and had a quiver and bow strapped to his back. His head was so high up he had to duck to avoid the porch lights, because from the waist down, he was a white stallion.

Chiron started to smile at Reyna. Then the color drained from his face.

* * *

“You must excuse the décor.” Chiron said as the mounted leopard, Seymour, finished it’s sausages “All this was a parting gift from our old director before he was recalled to Mount Olympus. He thought it would help us to remember him. Mr. D has a strange sense of humor.”

Reyna glanced around the room, which was covered in grapevines bulging with plump grapes (Reyna was pretty sure December wasn’t grape season but decided not to question it). The walls were decorated with old-school theater masks, a vintage Pac-Man game beeped in the corner, and a pleasant fire crackled in the fireplace, above which Seymour, a reanimated stuffed leopard head, sniffed around for more sausages.

“Mr. D.” Reyna said “Dionysus?”

“Mmhmm,” Chiron poured lemonade, which Reyna took but did not drink.

Chiron had ordered Chris and Clarisse back to their activities. Neither of them were happy about it and tired to argue with him but Reyna had assured them it was fine. Now that she was alone with Chiron however, even after he’d disguised himself as a wheelchair-bound mortal, her nerves had only gotten worse. Her leg bounced, as if asking permission to run away.

“So, Reyna,” he said, “would you mind telling me—ah—where you‘re from?”

Reyna shrugged, trying not to look as helpless as she felt, and told him the whole story from the beginning. Though she left out a few details, such as her momentary plan to steal a bus and her irrational desire to punch Percy in the face. She didn’t see how that would help. Chiron was a good listener. He didn‘t react to the story, other than to nod encouragingly for more.

When Reyna was done, the old man sipped his lemonade.

“I see,” Chiron said. “And you must have questions for me.”

“A couple.” Reyna admitted “Like where are all the adults? I haven’t seen anyone older than nineteen since I got here. And then there’s, well, this.” She showed him her tattoo

Chiron flinched, though he tried to recover with a reassuring smile

“My girl let me ask you, do you believe the gods still exist?”

“Yes.” Reyna said immediately “Immortal is immortal. They’re still around, moving every few centuries to match which country is currently the most powerful.”

“Indeed.” Something about Chiron‘s voice had changed. “So you already know the gods are real. You have already been claimed, haven’t you?”

“Maybe.” Reyna answered “Clarisse said she thought I was a child of Ares and a few others thought I might be a child of Athena. But neither of those feel right to me.”

“No. No I would think not.”

Chiron waited, and Reyna realized what had just happened. The centaur had switched to another language and Reyna had understood, automatically answering in the same tongue.

“Quis erat—” Reyna faltered, then made a conscious effort to speak English. “What was that?”

“You know Latin,” Chiron observed. “Most demigods recognize a few phrases, of course. It‘s in their blood, but not as much as Ancient Greek. None can speak Latin fluently without practice.”

“So I must’ve practiced.” Reyna reasoned “What does that prove?”

Chiron sighed like parent trying to reason with their toddler.

“Look, can we get back to the tattoo on my arm? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you dodging the question.”

“I‘m afraid I can‘t explain, my girl. I swore on the River Styx and on all things sacred that I would never …” Chiron frowned. “But you‘re here, in violation of the same oath. That too, should not be possible. I don‘t understand. Who would‘ve done such a thing? Who—”

Seymour the leopard howled. His mouth froze, half open. The arcade game stopped beeping. The fire stopped crackling, its flames hardening like red glass. The masks stared down silently at Reyna with their grotesque grape eyes and leafy tongues.

“Chiron?” Reyna asked. “What‘s going—"

The old centaur had frozen, too. Reyna jumped off the couch, but Chiron kept staring at the same spot, his mouth open mid-sentence. His eyes didn‘t blink. His chest didn‘t move.

 _Reyna_ , a voice said.

For a horrible moment, she thought the leopard had spoken. Then dark mist boiled out of Seymour‘s mouth, and an even worse thought occurred to Reyna: storm spirits.

She grabbed her can of mace, transformed it into a spear, and took a defensive stance.

The mist took the form of a woman in black robes. Her face was hooded, but her eyes glowed in the darkness. Over her shoulders she wore a goatskin cloak. Reyna wasn‘t sure how she knew it was goatskin, but she recognized it and knew it was important.

 _“You will not attack your superior, child.”_ The woman said. Her voice an echo in Reyna’s skull _“Lower your weapon.”_

Reyna did not lower her weapon “Who are you? Why should I believe you?” she demanded

The woman chuckled _“Your mother’s blood is strong in you. But even she would not be so reckless as to attack me.”_

Reyna blinked “My mother?”

_“Our time is limited, Reyna. My prison grows stronger by the hour. It took me a full month to gather enough energy to work even the smallest magic through its bonds. I’ve managed to bring you here, but now I have little time left, and even less power. This may be the last time I can speak to you.”_

Reyna hesitated “Look, I don’t remember anything right—”

 _“Yes.”_ The woman agreed _“That also was necessary.”_

“You took my memories? Okay, better question. Why should I help you?”

The woman smiled, which sent a shiver down Reyna’s back _“As for why you should help me, if you do not their king will rise from the earth, and I will be destroyed. You will never retrieve your memories. As for why you_ will _help me, you are a soldier at heart, daughter of war, when a goddess gives you an order, you will not disobey.”_

Reyna blinked. Responses bounced around in her head from “You’re a goddess?” to “What king?” to “Wait, you stole my memories? Well, now I’m definitely not helping you!”

_“You have until sunset on the solstice, Reyna. Four short days. Do not fail me.”_

The dark woman dissolved, and the mist curled into the leopard‘s mouth.

Time unfroze. Seymour‘s howl turned into a cough like he‘d sucked in a hair ball. The fire crackled to life, the arcade machine beeped, and Chiron said, “—would dare to bring you here?”

Chiron looked up in surprise. “Weren‘t you just sitting … why do you have spear out?”

“I don’t know how tell you this,” Reyna said, “but I think your leopard just ate a goddess.”

She told Chiron about the frozen-in-time visit, the dark misty figure that disappeared into Seymour‘s mouth.

“Oh, dear,” Chiron murmured. “That does explain a lot.”

“Then explain it.” Reyna demanded “Because my patience is beginning to wear thin.”

Before Chiron could say anything, footsteps reverberated on the porch outside. The front door blew open and Percy and a redheaded girl burst in, dragging Piper between them. Piper‘s head lolled like she was unconscious.

“What happened now?” Reyna demanded, that roar of anger she’d felt on the beach poking it’s head up again.

“We don’t know.” Percy insisted helplessly “We were just talking and then Rachel... It was like she was possessed, but not in the usual way.”

The redheaded girl, Rachel, Reyna assumed, sniffled. She looked like she’d been crying.

“A prophecy?” Chiron asked.

“No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me.”

Reyna went and grabbed the unconscious Piper from them and laid her on the couch. Her blood boiled at the sight of her. “Can you heal her? Or you as useless to everyone who needs your help as you are to me?” she snapped at Chiron

The centaur looked miserable. He took a vial out of his chair and dribbled a few drops into Pipers mouth. While he cared for her, Reyna, Rachel, and Percy traded stories of what had happened. They decided they had all been visited simultaneously by Hera, who had been imprisoned and was holding Reyna’s memories hostage to get her to free her.

At one point, Percy casually told the story of the time he’d wiped the memories of a Titan using the River Lethe in the underworld that sent shivers down Reyna’s spine. She supposed talking to horses and keeping them dry as they fell in a lake might not be the full extent of his abilities.

“But then what’s Piper got to do with this? Why did she appear to her?” Reyna asked

Percy shook his head “I don’t know. Maybe she was just hoping to get he word out to more people and Piper was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m more concerned about what could’ve captured Hera. I mean, the Titans…” he looked wearily to Chiron who shook his head sadly

“No, my boy. That threat has ended. I had hoped after your success last summer there would be peace. But I fear the last chapter is coming.”

“Last chapter? Gee, that dosen’t sound ominous at all.” Reyna said

Chiron packed up his med kit and began to wheel away. “Piper needs rest and you three should get to dinner. We’ll discuss this later.”

“Or now.” Reyna suggested but Chiron just continued on down the hall “Is he always like that?” She demanded

Percy frowned “No. The last time I saw him like this, he was refusing to tell me about a prophecy that, as it turned out, was about me.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow “And why didn’t he tell you that?”

“When heroes know their future they tend to try and change it, which never goes well.” Rachel explained

Percy nodded “Plus being a chosen one in one of those prophecies is not as fun as you’d think. The prophecy also could’ve been about my friend Thalia and she joined the Hunters of Artemis to avoid ever being the chosen one. Look, I trust Chiron. I’m sure he wants what’s best for Olympus and for us. If he’s hiding something, it must be for a good reason.”

Reyna wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she was desperate to know what was going on here. She had to hold herself back from charging down the hallway and demanding the old horse-man tell her everything. On the other hand, Percy was right. Assuming he was the same Chiron from the legends, he had more experience dealing with these things than anyone else. She would just have to grit her teeth and respect that.

“Come on.” Percy said “Chiron’s right about one thing, it’s almost dinner time and I’m hungry.”

Reyna knelt besides Piper, she whispered in her ear “You’d better be okay. Because if you’re not I _will_ break somebody’s nose over it. Possibly several.” And then trudged out of the Big House after Rachel and Percy.

She really didn’t feel like following Percy around so instead she found her way to the training arena on a hunch. She found Clarisse there, doing push-ups while Chris sat on her back, reading a magazine about cars.

“—Jackson manages to screw this up—” Clarisse was mumbling,

“Careful, babe, people might realize just how worried you are.” Chris teased

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m _not_ worried about Wise Girl, Chris!”

“Mmm.”

“She just always has the best strategies for capture the flag is all.” Clarisse insisted “I mean who’s next? Malcom? Don’t make me laugh. It’s no fun if there’s no challenge.”

“Whatever you say, babe.” Then he looked up and saw Reyna standing there awkwardly “Oh, hey! How’d things go with Chiron?” he asked before Clarisse could continue arguing

Reyna couldn’t bring herself to tell them the whole story. Mostly, she couldn’t admit how frustrated she was with Chiron after they’d gone to bat for him earlier. She just stuck to saying he wasn’t able to answer her questions.

“Well that’s too bad Chiron couldn’t help. But hey! Looks like you’ve got a solid lead now. Do a solid for Olympus and bing-badda-boom you got your memories back.” Chris said with finger guns

Clarisse snorted affectionately “Ever the optimist.” Then her eyes turned back to Reyna and got hard again “I don’t like the sound of this. I’ve never heard of Hera wearing a goatskin cloak. And if she’s sure you’d do what she ordered you do anyway, why take your memories? The whole thing smells worse than Jackson after the rock-climbing wall.”

Chris chuckled, like that was a joke they shared a lot.

“I don’t trust it either. There’s more going on here than meets the eye.” Reyna said “But it seems if I want my memories back, I don’t have a choice.”

The two of them exchanged glance. “Listen, Chiron will most likely issue a quest tonight at the campfire. When he does, Rachel will give a prophecy and we’ll sort things out from there.” Clarisse said just as a conch shell sounded in the distance “For now, dinner. I better get going and lead the losers in. See you ‘round.” and she took off down the hill

“You’re new, which means you’re in Cabin Eleven with me for now. Come on.” Chris said

They made their way down to the cabins—the oddest assortment of buildings Reyna had ever seen—and silently fell in the back of the line coming out of the only normal looking cabin. Clarisse led the line coming out of the furious red one with barbed wire on the roof and a stuffed boar above the door frame. Reyna wondered if that was alive too. Percy walked alone from a low-rise building made of gray slab studded with coral. Leo and Piper were nowhere to be seen, which made Reyna feel a little lonely in the crowd.

They marched down to an open-air dining pavilion and took their seats.

“Hey, Chris, why’s Percy sitting all alone?”

“Camp rules. You can only sit with your cabin mates and Percy dosen’t have any.”

“Why not?”

“Because your cabin mates are your brothers and sisters on your godly side. Unless your undetermined, in which case you crash in Cabin Eleven. But they don’t last long these days.”

“Thank the gods.” A boy at the head of the table said

“Thank Percy.” Another boy who looked like his twin corrected and the rest of the table laughed

“So he dosen’t have any siblings?” Reyna asked

Chris shook his head “After World War II The Big Three gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all promised not to have any more kids with mortals. Technically, Percy shouldn’t have been born.”

“I guess somebody’s mom had it going on!” somebody joked and the table laughed. But Reyna barely noticed. Her brain was doing that brainfreeze thing again.

“But wasn’t Zeus famously, like, the biggest slut of all time back in the day? He agreed to this?” That also got a big laugh from the table

“Surprisingly, yes. Though he was also the first to break it.”

The brain freeze got worse “He had a son?” Reyna guessed

Chris shook his head “A daughter. Her name’s Thalia but you won’t see her here. She signed up with the Hunters of Artemis two years ago. Hades also has a kid who shows up from time to time but personally I’d rather he kept his distance.” His voice turned bitter when he mentioned the child of Hades.

“Oh, come on Chris,” Somebody said “You’re just mad that—”

Chris silenced them with a look “Mad? His ghost attendant literally drove me to madness. So yeah, I’m not a fan.”

Reyna wasn’t sure what to say to that but fortunately that was when other tables started getting up and scraping part of their meal into the fire. A sacrifice to the gods, Reyna realized.

As she approached, she realized people were calling out the name of their godly parent, which made Reyna feel hallow. She stepped up and tossed in a juicy piece of steak.

 _“Juno.”_ She prayed _“I’m coming to get you so you better not make me regret it.”_

She went back to her seat and started to eat with the rest of Cabin Eleven. But her eyes kept being drawn back to Percy, sitting all alone and poking disinterest at his food. Surrounded by laugher and merrymaking but not a part of it. She could see why he was so desperate to get his girlfriend back.


	4. Piper II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet again Leo does completely his own thing during his chapters. I'm starting to think this was an intentional decision on Riordan's part to emphasize how Leo feels isolated from his friends. And even Piper's first chapter is mostly a dream sequence that wouldn't have changed in the slightest. So I've been left with just one chapter to work with, and it also has to be kept mostly the same because Reyna and Jason ultimately make the same decisions, if with different mindsets, which is difficult to illustrate from outside her perspective. I tried to make up for this by adding some original content showing how Reyna's relationships will be different from Jason's. Honestly, I'm getting a little eager though to leave the opening act behind and get into the meat of the quest. Also I was re-reading The Last Olympian and it turns out both Coach Hedge and Will Solace make early cameos in that book. That was a fun surprise! Anyway, on with the story.

The whole campfire idea freaked Piper out. It made her think of that huge purple bonfire in the dreams, and her father tied to a stake.

It turned out to only be a sing-a-long, almost like you’d see in other summer camps except the song kept talking about different pieces of armor and the fire changed color with the crowds mood. Piper spied Leo with a bunch of burly-looking kids under a gray banner with a flaming hammer on it. Reyna sat next to Clarisse, which she took as a sign their fight couldn’t have ended too badly, though she did have a band-aid on her cheek.

Piper and Rachel got to the campfire late so they sat together on the edge of the crowd. Rachel had told Piper she had a hunch she would get claimed tonight at the campfire and Piper subconsciously hoped if no one could see her they might not notice her being claimed. She hated to think that somewhere out there was her family. Her brothers and sisters. They were just more people she would have to betray in the end. More people who would hate her.

When the sing-a-long finally ended Chiron, who was a centaur by the way, (Piper would never get used to this place) informed them capture the flag was still off on account of the dragon, which sparked some arguing among Clarisse’s and Leo’s groups. Finally, Chiron had to step in and restore order.

“In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss.” He informed them

“You mean Annabeth?” Someone asked and the campfire dropped a good ten feet. All eyes turned to Percy, who sat all alone under a green banner with a trident emblem.

He steeled his expression and stood “I didn’t find Annabeth at the Grand Canyon like I’d hoped. But we still have scouts all over the country looking for her. Grover’s alerting the nature spirits. Tyson and Mrs. O’Leary are checking cities. Thalia has the Hunters roaming the country looking for her. She’s as eager as anyone to have Annabeth home again. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds her.” He spoke with confidence and his expression was firm. It didn’t allow room for argument. The way he stood apart from everyone and addressed them… like a general addressing his troops… This morning Piper wouldn’t have thought it was possible for him to look so commanding and impressive. “It seems Hera had other plans when she contacted me.” He turned to Reyna, who also stood.

Her ever-regal presence served her well with so many eyes on her “She needed me to be brought to Camp Half-Blood so that I could be sent on a quest. Ju—Hera has been imprisoned. This afternoon I saw a vision of her commanding me to free her.”

A lot of murmuring broke out among the crowd. Finally an unpleasantly familiar voice broke through the noise.

“It’s the Great Prophecy isn’t it?” Drew rose above her siblings sitting under a rose colored banner with a dove emblem.

Dove, the symbol of Aphrodite, Piper remembered from researching Greece with her Dad. Of course, who else was snobby enough to be Drew’s mom?

“Drew,” Percy said, looking a little paler than before “The last Great Prophecy took seventy years to happen. What makes you think this is the next one?”

“Well, come on.” Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. “Olympus is closed. Annabeth‘s disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?”

Piper whispered to Rachel, “What‘s she talking about—the Great Prophecy?”

Then she realized everyone else was looking at Rachel, too.

“Well?” Drew called down. “You‘re the oracle. Has it started or not?”

Rachel‘s eyes looked scary in the firelight. Piper was afraid she might clench up and start channeling a freaky peacock goddess again, but she stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp.

“Yes,” she said. “The Great Prophecy has begun.”

Pandemonium broke out. Percy sat down looking like he might be sick.

When the talking finally subsided, Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together.

“For those of you who have not heard it,” Rachel said, “the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this: “ _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall_ —”

Reyna shot to her feet. Her eyes looked wild, like she‘d just been tasered.

Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. “R-Reyna?” she said. “What‘s—"

“Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus,” she chanted. “Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem.”

An uneasy silence settled on the group. Piper could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. She could tell it was Latin, but she wasn‘t sure why Reyna was suddenly chanting Latin like she’d been possessed.

“You just … finished the prophecy,” Rachel stammered. “— _An oath to keep with a final breath. And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death_. How did you—"

“I don’t know!” Reyna snapped, her voice waivered in a very un-Reyna like way “Me estoy hartando de responder todas las preguntas con No sé.”

“Speak English!” Someone from the crowd jeered. Anger flashed across Reyna’s face and Piper was sure she was about to charge into the crowd and generally ruin that persons evening.

Before she could though, another voice range out “Reyna, stop!” and Reyna froze as still as a statue. The crowd was oddly still, as though they were all holding their breath.

Piper realized with a start that it was her voice that’d called out. But it had sounded strange to her own ears, more insistent and richer in tone.

The crowd unfroze and began murmuring loudly among themselves. Reyna put her hands behind her back, trying to reclaim her composure but her face was too shocked and embarrassed for her to hide.

“I wasn’t… I—I wouldn’t…” she sat down again quickly. Clarisse tried to offer a friendly punch on the arm but Reyna was as still and as pale as a Roman statue.

There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. God, what a bunch of losers, Piper thought. But it didn‘t do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.

Rachel Dare still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn‘t interrupt—a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage.

“Anyway,” Rachel continued, trying to regain her composure “We don‘t know what the Great Prophecy means. But Drew’s right, it’s starting, I can feel it. The seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here. We don‘t know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad.”

“Or worse,” Chiron murmured.

Maybe he didn‘t mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple, the same color as Piper‘s dream.

“What we do know,” Rachel said “Is that it’s starting.”

She told them all about the events of the day from the Grand Canyon to Piper and Reyna’s visions of Hera. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar that Piper got a chill. The only difference: Hera had warned Piper not to betray her: _Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all_. Hera knew about the giant‘s threat. But if that was true, why hadn‘t she warned Reyna, and exposed Piper as an enemy agent?

A low whistle came from the Hephaestus cabin when she was done “Man, you guys get visited by a goddess and I get chucked off a cliff. I miss all the action!” Leo complained which got some nervous chuckles from the crowd.

“Reyna,” Rachel said “Um … do you remember your last name?”

She looked self-conscious, but she shook her head.

“We‘ll just call you Reyna, then,” Rachel said. “It‘s clear Hera herself has issued you a quest.”

Rachel paused, as if giving Reyna a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone‘s eyes were on her; there was so much pressure, Piper thought she would‘ve buckled in her position. Yet she looked calm and determined. She set her jaw and nodded. “I agree. I must save the Queen of the Gods by the winter solstice in four days.”

Her eyes scanned the crowd, as if daring someone to challenge her but no one did.

“What’s so important about the winter solstice?” Pier dared to ask

“That’s when the gods have their winter council.” Percy explained, his tone slightly bitter “It will be the day her absence can’t be ignored any more. The gods will start arguing and accusing each other. When I was twelve Zeus and my dad almost caused World War III over a missing lightning bolt. I don’t want to think how they’d react when his _wife_ is stolen.”

There was some shuffling under the brown banner with a caduceus. As if this was a story they knew and didn’t like.

“The winter solstice,” Chiron spoke up, “is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things … stir.”

The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister—like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough

“But if she’s so important why hasn’t she been claimed yet?” A girl in a red bandanna pipped up from the Hephaestus cabin, breaking the silence

Chiron shifted his weight, as if the topic made him uncomfortable “I believe she has, Nyssa. She simply cannot remember who her godly parent is.”

Reyna fidgeted absentmindedly with her braid, looking even more uncomfortable than Chiron “Ju—Hera called me the daughter of war. That must—”

“See, I told you.” Clarisse cut her off “She’s a daughter of Ares. That proves it!”

Reyna shifted in her seat, not meeting Clarisse’s gaze “Well—”

“You don’t know that!” Some blond kid under a gray banned with an owl emblem spoke up “Do we have to remind you, _again,_ that our mom’s a war god too?”

Clarisse snorted “Oh please, Malcom, your as much a warrior as I am an egghead.”

“Not everyone’s an idiotic brute. Some people actually use strategy when they fight”

“You wanna go? I’ll shove your strategy up your—"

“Enough! Both of you!” Reyna barked and the amphitheater went silent again

“The important thing,” Rachel said, “is that Reyna‘s here now. She has a quest to fulfill, which means she needs her own prophecy.”

She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool, like they‘d been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel‘s feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient—the sound a snake would make if it could talk:

_“Daughter of War, beware the earth,_

_The giant’s revenge the seven shall birth,_

_The forge and dove shall break the cage,_

_And death unleash through Hera’s rage.”_

On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.

The ampitheather was deadly silent as everyone processed the words.

“Death unleashed through Hera’s rage.” Percy echoed like he didn’t like the sound of that. Piper was inclined to agree. Did Hera keep her secret so she could have the chance to kill her herself?

“So if we do nothing the gods tear themselves apart but if we save her she unleashes death?” Reyna said

“It sounds like Hera turns on her rescuers.” Nyssa said

“Would she do something like that?” Reyna asked

The girl looked queasy “It’s not out of the question. Hera has never been kind to heroes. And she can be vengeful. She threw our dad Hephaestus from Olympus just because he was ugly.”

“Real ugly!” snickered someone from Aphrodite.

“Shut up!” Nyssa growled. “Anyway, we‘ve also got to think —why beware the earth? And what‘s the giants‘ revenge? What are we dealing with here that‘s powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?”

“Still, if I leave her to rot I’ll never know who I am.” Reyna reasoned “I have to go. There’s no other option for me.”

“Then, by tradition, you are allowed two companions.” Chiron said

“Well obviously Percy!” someone from Hermes piped up

“No.” Reyna and Percy said at the same time

“I’m leaving in the morning to search for Annabeth. And that line about avoiding the earth makes it sound like you’ll need to travel by air. With the chariot out of commission that’s not an option for me.” Percy explained

There was some mumbling among the crowd. Mixed emotions, like they’d all just assumed Percy would be going.

“Besides, the prophecy is clear.” Reyna said “The dove and forge shall break the cage. Not a trident or sea or anything like that.”

The Hephaestus and Aphrodite cabins stirred. Nyssa stood up, looking like she’d just been handed a heavy anvil to carry.

“Well, with Jake out of commission, I’m senior counselor. I can volunteer for this quest.”

She didn‘t sound enthusiastic.

Then Leo stood up. He‘d been so quiet, Piper had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally not like Leo.

“It‘s me,” he said.

Some of his siblings tried to pull him back into his seat but he resisted. Reyna picked him over with those intense black eyes of hers that saw every weakness and she smiled. It was a gentle, relieved smile, like some had just taken a heavy load from her.

“Yes.” She said “I believe it is.”

Leo nodded, looking uncharacteristically serious and determined as he met her gaze “I have an idea for transportation too. Just leave that to me.”

Reyna nodded “Very well. You have my faith. As for the dove…”

The Aphrodite cabin grew restless under Reyna’s intense gaze. Finally Drew popped up looking like she’d been poked in the back one too many times “Ugh! Fine! I guess if you, like, really need my help or whatever I can come along. I am head counselor after all.”

Then Piper realized there were no seats left on the quest.

“No!” she yelped as if she’d been poked with a hot iron, then tried to quickly get her composure back once the entire camp was staring at her “I’m supposed to go.”

Drew’s eyes narrowed at her. She might not want to go on he quest herself but she was not about to let Piper take what she’d already declared to be hers.

“Oh please, dumpster girl. Back off.”

“I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this.”

“Anyone can have a vision,” Drew said. “You were just at the right place at the right time. To go on a quest you need skills. Talent. I have the power of charm, of persuasion, diplomacy. What can _you_ do? Why should Reyna want you along?”

Reyna looked between the two of them, her expression carefully neutral. Her eyes met with Piper and sent a clear message: _Convince them._

Piper tried to respond, but her confidence started to wane. What could she offer? She wasn‘t a fighter, or a planner, or a fixer. She had no skills except getting into trouble and occasionally convincing people to do stupid things. Plus, she was a liar. She heard that voice from the dream: _Do our bidding, and you may walk away alive._

“Well,” Drew said smugly, “I guess that settles it.”

Suddenly there was collective gasp. Everyone stared at Piper like she‘d just exploded. She wondered what she‘d done wrong. Then she realized there was a reddish glow around her.

“What?” she demanded.

She looked above her, but there was no burning symbol like the one that appeared over Leo. Then she looked down and yelped.

Her clothes … what in the world was she wearing? She despised dresses. She didn‘t own a dress. But now she was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a V-neck so low it was totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair …

Reyna threw her head back and laughed “Of course.” She said

“No!” Drew snarled “Not possible!”

Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example.

“Hail, Piper McLean,” Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. “Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love.”

***

“Aw sweet!” Reyna cried in triumph as she rummaged the empty stands of the amphitheater.

The crowds had finally emptied out after swarming Piper over her surprise makeover. Only Piper and Reyna were left now and Piper took the chance to catch her breath.

“Is it really that bad?”

“Afraid so. You’re absolutely stunning.” Reyna said, walking over with a trampled gray blanket across her shoulders like a cape.

“I feel like a painted whore.” Piper insisted

“I’d suggest jumping in the lake if it wasn’t already cold as tits outside. I’ll have to talk to Chiron about getting proper winter gear before we leave tomorrow. I don’t know who dressed me or why they thought a windbreaker was enough in December but remind me to give them hell when I find out.”

“I think we forgot something in all the excitement earlier.” Reyna said. Then she bowed with her hand extended, like a prince asking her to dance “Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on this quest?”

The whole things was so theatrical Piper couldn’t help but laugh as she took Reyna’s hand “Of course.”

Reyna met her eyes and smiled. It was different than the one she’d given Leo. Shaper somehow, like she’d won a victory.

She sat down next to her and lent Piper half of her blanket. It wasn’t really big enough for both of them but they managed. “Seems appropriate dosen’t it? The three of us from the Wilderness School on a quest together. I’m glad it’s you.” She said.

Pier felt a pang of guilt at that “I’m sorry.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow “What on earth for?”

Pier opened her mouth but she couldn’t make the words come out. She couldn’t admit about her dreams and she couldn’t admit to Reyna she didn’t have any real skills and would just weigh her and Leo down. She opted to change the subject. “Just… I’m sorry you can’t remember anything. And I’m sorry everyone keeps asking you questions you can’t answer. It must be so frustrating.”

Reyna nodded, though she didn’t seem to totally buy Piper’s distraction.

“Do you think Leo will come through with transportation? I didn’t want to bring it up, but I don’t think Scipio will be able to carry all three of us.”

“Scipio?”

Reyna held out the pegasus whistle “I finally deciphered this stupid thing.” She gave the whistle a blow but nothing happened. Reyna shook her head, disappointed but not surprised.

“Leo will come through. He can be a pain but he’s a reliable pain.” Piper assured her

Reyna nodded, like she was declaring the matter closed. The two sat in silence for a minute, staring at the stars. Four days. Piper only had four days until Reyna and Leo and everyone else hated her guts. It wouldn’t matter how beautiful she was then.

“There you are.” A gruff voice broke the silence.

Clarisse stepped into the dwindling firelight. She inspected Piper like she was trying to decide if she could throw a punch. Piper shrunk from her gaze.

“Glad I caught you. I wanted to talk to both of you before you head out tomorrow.”

Reyna straightened “You have advice for us?”

Clarisse didn’t take her eyes off Piper “Well for one thing, I know if you’re going on a quest you’re going to need a proper weapon. Come on, there’s a shed where we store them.”

She led them out of the amphitheater and to a big metal shed that looked like it was meant for gardening tools. Clarisse unlocked it, and inside were not gardening tools, unless you wanted to make war on your tomato plants. The shed was lined with all sorts of weapons—from swords to spears to clubs like Coach Hedge‘s. Clarisse didn’t bother to turn on the light but it wasn’t really necessary as most of the weapons gave off a soft magical glow, just enough to see by.

Reyna perused the weapon selection like other teenage girls might peruse racks of shoes on sale. “Hmm. You don’t have much muscle on you so we should think light. Perhaps a bow and arrow?”

Clarisse made a noise of disapproval “Bows and arrows are for cowards who stand in the back of the fight. Give me a spear and shield any day.”

“Yes, I’m inclined to agree myself. They’re so… symbiotic? Is that the word? If your bow string breaks your out of luck, if you run out of arrows, your out of luck. There’s too many ways things can go wrong.”

Clarisse managed a smile but Pier could tell it was hard for her. Something was weighing on her but Piper had no idea what. Then something in the corner caught her eye.

“What is that?” she said. “A knife?”

Clarisse dug it out and blew the dust off the scabbard. It looked like it hadn‘t seen the light of day in centuries. She and Reyna exchanged glances.

“I don’t know, Piper.” Reyna said “Knifes have almost no reach at all. You have to be right up on your enemy to be effective with them.”

“Weren’t you two just saying it’s better to be on the front lines?” She challenged

“Ah, touche.” Reyna admitted and tossed her the knife.

The sheath was worn black leather, bound in bronze. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy. The polished wood handle fit beautifully in Piper‘s hand. When she unsheathed it, she found a triangular blade eighteen inches long—bronze gleaming like it had been polished yesterday. The edges were deadly sharp. Her reflection in the blade caught her by surprise. She hadn’t seen herself since her claiming. Reyna was unfortunately right, she was stunning, but it was more than that. She looked older, more serious, not as scared as she felt.

“It suits you.” Reyna admitted “Well, I guess if you’re sure.”

“That blade was a wedding present to Helen of Troy.” Clarisse informed them “She named it Katoptris—looking glass—probably because it’s the only thing she ever used it for.”

“Wait.” Piper said, suddenly feeling like she should be handling the blade with surgical gloves “You mean you guys have ancient Greek artifacts just hanging around in your shed? This could be worth a fortune!”

“Or it could it’s job and save your life.” Clarisse said, quickly ending the conversation

Piper looked at the blade again. For a moment, her own image stared up at her, but then the reflection changed. She saw flames, and a grotesque face like something carved from bedrock. She heard the same laughter as in her dream. She saw her dad in chains, tied to a post in front of a roaring bonfire.

She dropped the blade.

“Piper?” Reyna looked concerned “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I-I’m fine.” Piper managed. She picked up the dagger, which was easier said than done with her trembling fingers. Reyna didn’t look convinced but she didn’t pry for which Piper was grateful.

“Funny you should mention ghosts.” Clarisse smiled a cruel smile “There’s another reason I brought you out here. Gather round, newbies, I got a ghost story to tell you.”

Piper had had quite enough ghost stories to last her a lifetime but she would’ve been too embarrassed to admit that next to Reyna, who showed no fear.

“This is the story,” Clarisse began “Of a daughter of Ares and a daughter of Aphrodite. Like so many demigods, both felt ignored by their godly parent and, like so many demigods, things weren’t so great with their mortal parent either. The daughter of Ares resolved that she would win her fathers respect by being a great hero and bringing glory to his name.”

“Unfortunately, after a certain son of Hermes failed spectacularly in his own quest nobody else was allowed the chance to even try. The son of Hermes grew bitter and ran away from camp, declaring that he would tear down Olympus and reinstall the Titans who would destroy Western Civilization as we know it. The Daughter of Ares saw her chance to prove herself to her father but the daughter of Aphrodite…” Here eyes flicked over towards Piper in a way that made her gulp “Well, she’d always had a soft spot for this son of Hermes. A crush. She was swayed by him and became his spy, reporting to the enemy all the Camp’s moves which made fighting the war very difficult.”

Piper felt like she’d been tazed. A daughter of Aphrodite who was a spy? Could Clarisse know somehow about her?

“As for the daughter of Ares, she got what she wanted. She was given quests. Important tasks that only she could be trusted with. They went terribly.” She spat out bitterly. It was hard to tell in the dark light but Piper could swear tears were forming in her eyes “Her hubris, her stubbornness and pride, got in the way and nearly cost her her life more than once. She found an old friend, driven to madness in the Labyrinth. Her priorities changed. She no longer cared about being a hero.”

Reyna couldn’t meet Clarisse’s eyes. She hung her head as if in shame but neither of them dare interrupted. 

“Things changed for the daughter of Aphrodite, too. She became head counselor. She fell in love. But the more things improved for her the more ammunition the son of Hermes had to use against her. He would not release his grip on her. In the end, she gave her life to make things right.”

“Her name was Silena Beauregard. She was my best friend. She was a traitor and a spy. And she died a hero.” It was dark inside the shed but a streak of moonlight caught the tears that were trickling down her face.

Reyna gasped “Oh no! Piper, your make up will be ruined in this rain!”

They were inside and the sky above was clear. Clarisse turned from them “Yes, you’d better take her to Cabin ten. It’s the pink one that reeks of perfume.”

Reyna nodded and led Piper away as quickly as she could but Piper’s feet felt like they’d been turned to lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not thrilled about how I wrote Clarisse telling them the story, in that it's pretty much block after block of text and I tried to originally break it up by having her telling them while they're picking out a weapon for Piper and the two tones just completely clashed. Also, as far as Reyna speaking Spanish in this chapter I had to use Google translate so I'm sure it wasn't a good translation. She's supposed to be saying "I'm getting so sick of answering every question with "I don't know"." As far as her reaction to the casual racist comment, I'm trying to set up Reyna having a temper issue which will be important as the quest continues. I don't know if you've ever done any research into Reyna's mother, Bellona, but she is fucking metal. She was the goddess of bloodlust, conqeust, and destruction. Her priests would honor her by drinking their own blood to bring about a war-like frenzy. Of course, we don't really see any of this reflected in Reyna as we know her in the original series and exploring why that might be is one of the reasons I started this fic in the first place.


	5. Reyna III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun! The second chapter was a conversation between Jason and Annabeth in Cabin 1, none of which can happen now so I got write an entirely new chapter about the morning from Reyna's perspective.  
> Also, I read back over the fic and I realized something. 4 out of 5 chapter of this fic fail a reverse bechdel test. At no point do two male characters talk to each other. I love how changing the gender of one character suddenly changes everything!

Reyna dreamed of wolves.

She stood on the bank of a river, watching as two boys fought each other. They were obviously twins. Identical down the smallest freckle. As they moved, circling and wrestling with each other, Reyna realized she had no idea which was which. Their hair was long and matter, their fingernails overgrown and dirty, they wore the skins of animals Reyna was sure they had killed themselves. But there was also something familiar about them that Reyna couldn’t quite put her finger on.

They were fighting ferociously. As one pinned the other to the ground, his brother bit his arm so hard he left gashes to get him to let go. When the situation was revered (or maybe it hadn’t, Reyna couldn’t really tell) one brother pummeled his twin’s face with punches and didn’t let up until the other retaliated with a headbutt so hard that Reyna could feel the impact in her teeth.

All round them stood a pack of wolves. Large grey beasts with powerful bodies and wickedly sharp teeth. They stood at attention, watching the twins fight with rapt attention. Reyna was reminded uncannily of the Ares kids as she had fought Clarisse.

At the head of the circle stood the largest wolf Reyna had ever seen. An alpha that put the direwolves in A Game of Thrones to shame. She was several feet taler than Reyna, with eyes that glowed silver and a warm chocolate coat. She stood next to a man, square-jawed, incredibly muscular, and with empty sockets full of fire where his eyes should be.

One of the boys picked up the other and rammed him into a tree so hard cracks appeared in the bard under the force. The other’s eyes bulged but he recovered quickly and began forcing his brother back.

The muscular man smiled with pride “Look at them, Lupa. Any one of those blows would kill a mortal man, but they just keep fighting. They are true warriors, my sons. They will live on in legend, I’m sure of it.”

The she wolf didn’t speak exactly but Reyna could understand her. The movements of her ears and whiskers, the flash of her eyes, the way she curled her lips—all of these were part of her language.

 _I have raised them as part of my pack._ She said _They will never show weakness, they will never surrender. But they cannot stay here forever. You must find a place for them in the human world. The longer you delay, the worst the consequences will be._

The man considered this “I’ll look into it.” But Reyna got the sense he wasn’t in a big rush

The she-wolf let out a howl and the boys stopped their fighting immediately. The twins helped each other up. The man gave them a thumbs up and disappeared in a pillar of fire.

As soon as the she-wolf howled the twin’s demeanor had completely changed. Reyna could see now how eyes shined with excitement and a zeal for life. They walked away with their arms wrapped around each other, laughing and poking at each other, immediately trying to get under each others skin and annoy them. It was jarring to see them get along so well after trying so hard to destroy each other but it didn’t seem to bother them in the least. Reyna understood. To them, fighting was fun and fighting with your brother was the best fun there was. They were inseparable. The best of friends.

Then Lupa turned her attention to Reyna, which sent a jolt down her spine, since she hadn’t thought the she-wolf could see her.

 _And what of you, pup?_ She challenged _Are you a true warrior?_

Reyna thought of her fight against the venti that morning, then against Clarisse on the beach. Both filled her with dread, but her battle against Clarisse bothered her. That moment of unhinged rage after her opponent had drawn blood scarred her worse than a thousand storm spirits. She had felt herself staring into an abyss and she was afraid if she gave in there would be no getting out of it again.

She shook her head “Combat is necessary, and I will rise to the challenge, but it is not something I could ever enjoy the way they do.”

 _That is good. Because they are idiots._ The she-wolf said _But what if you are faced with s challenge you cannot rise to? Will you fight a battle you know if doomed?_

Reyna hesitated. She wasn’t afraid of dying, but dying for nothing? It was the ultimate humiliation. The ultimate unfairness. But then again, wolves care nothing for fairness. Conquer or die. That had always been their way.

“Perhaps. If I knew my death would contribute to the death of my enemy. Otherwise that is a fools errand.”

 _Said like a true soldier. Your mother would be so disappointed._ Lupa said.

The dream began to change. Lupa still stood before her but the landscape changed. Enormous redwood treed rose out of the ground until they loomed like giants overhead. The ground became muddy and coated heavily in fog. The ruins on an enormous stone mansion scattered all around her. Chimneys, no longer attached to anything littered across the land like totem poles.

Reyna looked down and swallowed a yelp. She could not show weakness in from of the she-wolf or she would tear her to bits. She stood at the edge of a pit, if she took one more step she would’ve tumbled down inside, and what she saw inside the pit filled her with dread.

 _Yet here we are, pup._ Lupa continued as if nothing had happened _At the precipice of a battle we cannot hope to win. If our enemy awakens, it will mean the end of all things. No force could oppose her. Every sacrifice would be in vain. Every act of resistance meaningless._

At opposite ends of the pit (which Reyna now realized was the remains of a pool) two dark spires had erupted from the cement floor like the drill bits of some massive tunneling machines boring through the surface. Reyna couldn‘t tell if the spires were made of rock or petrified vines, but they were formed of thick tendrils that came together in a point at the top. Each spire was about five feet tall, but they weren‘t identical. The one closest to Reyna was darker and seemed like a solid mass, its tendrils fused together. As she watched, it pushed a little farther out of the earth and expanded a little wider.

On Lupa‘s end of the pool, the second spire‘s tendrils were more open, like the bars of a cage. Inside, Reyna could vaguely see a misty figure struggling, shifting within its confines.

“Hera.” Reyna said.

The she-wolf growled in agreement. The other wolves circled the pool, their fur standing up on their backs as they snarled at the spires.

 _The enemy has chosen this place to awaken her most powerful son, the giant king,_ Lupa said _. Our sacred place, where demigods are claimed—the place of death or life. The burned house. The house of the wolf. It is an abomination. You must stop her._

“I understand.” She said, though her voice was weaker than she would’ve liked

She realized now just who this wolf was. Lupa, the Mother Wolf, the greatest of her kind. Long ago she‘d been brought to this place and presented before her. She had accepted her into her pack. As long as she was with her, she would protect her, nurture her, teach her the ways of surviving against the elements. But she was a far cry from a mother-figure. Wolfs were creatures without sympathy and with no tolerance for weakness. It did not matter how you felt, you would take what was given to you and not complain.

And this was what had been given to Reyna. She must rescue Hera, or the world as they knew it would end. She was being consumed, her power used to awaked some terrible enemy who would destroy life as they knew it.

“I find this place if I am to succeed. And I do not know where to look.” She said “Who will guide me?”

The dark spire grew slowly larger, like the bulb of some horrible flower.

 _The last time you were guided by a friend. That is not an option this time, pup. This time you must be your own saving grace._ The she-wolf curled her lip, as if she had just made a clever joke. _You know this place. You can find it again. Cleanse our house. Stop this before it is too late._

Reyna woke with a start. Sweat beaded on her face. She shoved off her blankets and stumbled to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face, which made her feel better but that just made her realize how exhausted she was. It was quiet in Cabin 11 but Reyna knew with so many campers that couldn’t last. She sat on the toilet and tired to collect herself.

She hadn’t been able to get Clarisse’s ghost story out of her head all night. Especially the thing about a son of Hermes starting a war to try and tear down Olympus. Suddenly things about the came made more sense to her. She thought about Chris telling her that he’d been given a second chance. How the children of Ares, god of war, had none the less been uneasy when they saw her tattoo. How Percy had reminded her of a general in front of his troops when he addressed the camp last night. These were people in the aftermath of a war.

Reyna’s stomach churned unpleasantly. She didn’t want to think about a war. The bloodshed, the lives lost, the pointless suffering, the scars that would never quite heal. War shaped every aspect of the world from politics to trade to music. War was necessary and, in many ways, inevitable, but that didn’t mean it was any more pleasant.

A knock came at the door and almost jumped out of her skin.

“Hey Reyna, what’s the deal? You fall in or something?” Chris’s half-awake voice came through the door

Reyna opened the door, her face hot “Uh, sorry. You know how girls are with bathrooms.”

As soon as she said it she realized how terrible she must look. She’d been so exhausted after the ghost story she had fallen asleep in her clothes, without even bothering to undo her braid.

Chris stared at her for a second, clearly still trying to wake up. He made no move for the bathroom “Oh duh. Knew I was forgetting something.” he said finally, wandering back over to her bunk. He picked up a backpack and tossed it in her direction. “Standard Cabin 11 welcome basket. Change of clothes, toilet trees, poker cards, that sort of thing. We figured if you’re going on a quest…”He spread his arms like the rest was self-explanatory.

Reyna didn’t know what to say. She remembered Clarisse’s story about the Son of Hermes who’d grown bitter, manipulated Silena Beauregard, and tried to bring down Olympus. But these people had shown her nothing but hospitality and made her feel welcome. And it wasn’t even just Cabin 11. She remembered when the Ares and Athena cabins had started bickering last night over who’s family she was likely to belong to and she couldn’t just pretend that hadn’t made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“Chris… Thank you.” She managed

He shrugged. “Eh, it’s no big deal. You’re far from the first person to show up to camp with nothing but the clothes on your back.”

Reyna had an idea “Hey, Chris?”

“Hmmm.” Said Chris, who was having a hard time keeping his eyes open

“Clarisse said she’s gone on a quest before. What was it?”

“Hm? Oh, that was when Luke poisoned Thalia’s tree. She had to go to the Sea of Monsters to get the Golden Fleece and save it.”

Reyna didn’t know what half those words meant “Oh yeah? She must’ve been a big hero around here huh?”

Chris smiled sleepily “She almost got herself eaten by a Cyclops. Then married. Girl does not know when to back down. Percy and Annabeth saved her and let her take the credit. Everyone knows that.” It took a second for him to realize what he’d said and that seemed to wake him up “You did not hear that from me.” He whispered desperatly

“My lips are sealed. Thanks for the clothes.” Reyna said and slammed the bathroom door again

“Hey don’t take to long will you? I really need to pee!” Chris insisted

“Dude, shut up! It’s like 6 AM!”

“Both of your shut up!”

It was chaos from there

Reyna looked at herself in the mirror. Yup, she looked about as tired as she felt. Definitely not as good as Piper did last night. Reyna wasn’t sure how she felt about that. It was one thing for Piper to be beautiful, but listening to her complain about being beautiful, as if it was a major pain for her, really bothered Reyna. It was like hearing a rich kid complain about how their penthouse was _too_ spacious and a pain to heat.

Reyna shook her head and got about getting ready for the day. There was nothing she could do about a war that had already come and gone, or about Silena Beauregard. What she could do was focus on the task ahead of her. Leo would come through with the transportation and they’d… shit.

What were they supposed to do? They didn’t know how to find the Wolf House and scouring the entire country on their own would take forever.

She felt that wave of anger well up inside her again, but she forced it down. They’d figure it out. They’d have to.

As Reyna was getting dressed, she paused to contemplate her new shirt. The clothes the Hermes cabin got her were simple jeans, an orange Camp Half Blood shirt, a scarf and leather jacket to keep her warm. Her other shirt was wrinkled and reeked of sweat after yesterday but it still felt wrong to change. But that was ridiculous. She was being irrational again. She slipped the fabric over her head but it left her feeling hallow. She was glad for the extra layers. Covering it up made her feel better somehow.

She look another look in the mirror. She was much more presentable. She studied her face closely for a second and tried to decide if she would call herself beautiful. She could never be in the same league as Piper but—

No, no, no, no! Reyna shook her head. No, she was not going to do that. She was not going to waste time thinking about if she was prettier than her friend. Reyna knew there was so much more to both of them anyway. She was smart enough not be sucked into something so stupid. Right?

She stepped out of the bathroom and found the Hermes cabin awake and lively. The siblings were all so busy bickering with each other no one even noticed her. For some reason, the floor was covered in soap bubbles. She decided not to ask.

Reyna remembered how the Hermes cabin had gotten antsy when Percy recalled a family squabble between the gods over a missing lighting bolt. She was willing to bet good money that son of Hermes Clarisse had mentioned had had a hand in that. She remembered how Clarisse didn’t try to deny that Silena was a traitor but still remembered her as a hero. She wondered if things were like that with this son of Hermes.

“Bathroom’s free!” she called as she ducked out of Cabin 11

She thought about popping in next door to see Piper but held back. It was still early and she didn’t think the children of Aphrodite would appreciate her interrupting their beauty sleep. The she saw a flash of movement in the red cabin and decided to try her luck here.

Sure enough, as she approached she found Clarisse doing chin-ups on the door frame, still in her pajamas.

“Sup?” She said 

Clarisse’s mouth twitched in a way that might’ve been a smile or a sneer “You come for round two?’

“Nah. They need me in one piece for this whole quest thing.”

“Fair enough.”

“Clarisse. You know what my tattoo means don’t you?”

Clarisse faltered in her chin ups “What? No! I just… Listen Cabin 5 makes it our business to know all about all the best militaries in history. Not the least of which being the Romans. SPQR was their motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and the People of Rome. Why you have it burned into your arm is beyond me.”

Reyna frowned. It wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for but she didn’t see why she’d keep it a secret.

“Besides it might not even mean that. It could just be a coincidence.” Clarisse pressed

“Perhaps.” Though Reyna wasn’t convinced it was “Anyway, wish me luck on my quest?”

Clarisse snorted “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”

“You know a little birdie told me you’ve been on a couple quests yourself. Any advice for me, hero?”

Clarisse stopped her chin-ups and studied Reyna carefully, like no one had ever asked her for advice before. “Just remember what I said about hubris, okay? It’s called a fatal flaw for a reason.” She settled on

Reyna nodded

“And uh…” Clarisse racked her brain, then snapped her fingers like she’d come up with something good “Listen, let me let you in on a little secret. Ares and Athena? The war gods? They don’t make it easy for their kids. We don’t get any special powers. Athena kids are smart and Ares kids are strong. That’s it. Everything else that goes into making a hero, that has to come from us. Jackson always get all the credit, cause he’s got all these stupid powers, being Poseidon’s son and all. But everyone knows Annabeth’s the brains behind the operation. He wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes without her.”

“You’ve got that right.” A new voice pipped up making them both jump. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” Percy said, though he didn’t look particularly sorry. He was dressed for travel, with a winter coat over his usual clothes and a backpack over his shoulder. But he also had bags under his eyes which made Reyna think she wasn’t the only one who’d had a restless night.

“What are you doing here?” Reyna asked

Percy pointed to the cabin next door, with walls made of gray slabs of sea floor speckled with coral. “I live there. I was just on my way to pick up Blackjack.”

“Where are you gonna look?” Clarisse asked

“Think I’ll head down to San Francisco. I’ll try finding Nereus. If Annabeth’s been within 10 miles of coast, that old geezer will know.

“Blackjack can take you as far as San Franciso?” Reyna asked, though it seemed like a dumb question

“Nah. Blackjack’s just giving me a lift to the Amtrack station. That wormhole trick really takes a lot out of them. Besides, this way I can check inland as well.” He sounded like he was trying to be optimistic “What about you Reyna? Where are you headed?”

Reyna grit her teeth. “Well… the venti at the Grand Canyon was talking about a Mistress who told him to wait for me to show up. So his boss must be someone who know powerful enough to know who I am. So maybe if I can interrogate one... I can find out where their keeping Hera?” It was the best she could come up with on the spot and it sounded pretty weak to her ears. A total longshot that they didn’t have time to waste on.

But Percy nodded like it made total sense to him “Sounds good but storm spirits are pretty hard to track down.”

“The Titans used to use them specifically because they’re so unpredictable.” Clarisse pointed out

Reyna sighed “Yeah, it’s pretty much a non-starter.”

“Not at all.” Percy said “All you have to do is figure out how to find the storm spirits and your golden. Come on, let’s ask Chiron.”

Clarisse waved them off like they were stink on her porch and went back to her work-out.

Walking down the green with Percy was more awkward then Reyna had thought it would be. “So how long have you and Annabeth been together?” she found herself saying

Percy blushed “Six months. Feels like a lot longer.”

“She used to go questing with you?”

“You make it sound like a hobby. But, yeah. We’ve been through a lot together.”

“You got any advice for me, before I head out?”

Percy thought for a minute “Well… urgh… The truth is most of the time I’m just improvising. We’d set a goal and then grop towards it in the dark.”

Reyna had to bite her tongue to keep herself from making an ill-advised joke about Percy groping in the dark with his girlfriend.

“Oh! There is one thing. I was on my first quest back when I was twelve and I had little run in with Ares.”

“Clarisse’s dad?”

His face darkened at the name and Reyna didn’t have to guess how he felt about the god of war “Yeah. Anyway Annabeth told me “Ares has strength but that’s all he has. Even strength must bow to wisdom sometimes.” Or something like that.”

“So your saying Ares is a total loser?”

Percy looked like he wasn’t against the idea until he remembered Ares was one of the likely candidates for Reyna’s parent “What I mean is—”

“I’m kidding, you ding-dong.” Reyna rolled her eyes “Fight smarter not harder. There’s always challenges you can’t beat head-on. I get it. I mean there’s a reason heroes have been using trickery and wit since ancient times.”

Reyna started to walk on towards the Big House but realized Percy wasn’t following. He was staring blankly at his shoes “I’m really not sure what would happen to be if she was… you know.”

Reyna regretted brining it up at all “Hey, I’m sure she’s fine.” She tried but it sounded weak. She didn’t know these people. “If… If Annabeth has a boyfriend like you so worried, she must be pretty special.”

Percy nodded in agreement, then shook his head as if to clear it of sadness “I shouldn’t be so worried. She’s not that easy to kill.”

Then Reyna realized, with a note of surprise, that she was jealous of Annabeth. She had a whole camp full of powerful demigods worried over her safety, yet sure she was strong enough to endure whatever life threw at her. She had a boyfriend ready to travel across the country for even a chance to find her. Did Reyna have people like that in her life? Had anyone even noticed she was missing?

She forced the feelings down. There was no helping her situation, there was only one way for her to go and it was forward.

They made it to the Big House as Chiron was putting on his pot of coffee. He was surprised to see them up so early but invited them in for scones before their respective trips anyway. Reyna told him about her plan and he stroked his beard like every wise mentor with a beard should.

“Anemoi thuellai are fundamentally wind spirits, which means they fall under the jurisdiction of Aeolus, the master of all the winds. He could certainly tell you where to find the spirits but he himself is impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look. I would recommend asking one of his subordinates for directions. Try Boreas, the North Wind. He’s both closest and, historically, the most helpful to heroes. He is settled in Quebec, the oldest northern settlement in North America.”

“I take it the natives were taken into that definition?” Reyna said with a quirked eyebrow

“I… Well, they were not… that is to say…” Chiron stammered

“Kidding. Thanks for the tip.” Reyna said. Percy looked like he was trying not to laugh at seeing Chiron so flustered

“Oh, and there is one more thing.” She told them about her dream. When she was done, Chiron looked troubled and Percy looked very confused.

“The place where demigods are claimed? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Percy said

Chiron looked miserable again and Reyna knew he did. “Redwoods could point to northern California. But finding one house with that much ground to cover, and the redwoods making areal search impossible. Would be impossible given the time limit.”

Reyna stared at him a moment, wondering if there was someway the get him to spill what they both knew he was hiding from her. Before she could figure it out however, they were interrupted as Blackjack stuck his head in the open window.

“Neigh.”

“Morning Blakcjack. No, no doughnuts. We got scones though.”

“Neeeigh.”

“Yeah obviously. We’ll hit up that place on 23rd street.”

“Neigh.”

“Well why didn’t you lead with that?” he turned to the others “We should go. The dragon’s back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, this was a fun chapter. Oh, and also Percy says he’s not sure what would happen to him if Annabeth died and I wrote it to come of as how would losing Annabeth change him but he’s also being literal. Remember he still has the blessing of Achilles in this version and Annabeth is his mortal coil. What kept him from dissolving. So if she dies does that affect Percy? Who know! Not him!


	6. Piper III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter started off pretty challenging for me. I wanted to show how some of the ripple effect changes are starting to compound and affect other characters. But then as I was writing it I realized something else about this AU that opens up the door for a lot more Piper development moving forward and what I think will ultimately define her arc in this version of the story. Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite with no romantic partner or love interest. Which means her arc will be about exploring other forms of love, namely platonic and familial and how those forms of love are just as important as romantic love. I really gotta say, my ace ass is very happy with this development.

Piper’s family reunion was off to a bad start and getting worse by the minute.

She couldn’t do anything about looking like Cherokee Barbie. Her newfound siblings apparently found it funny she’d ever want to look like herself again. Drew was head counselor, barking out orders in a sweet voice and with pet names but it was clear she ruled with an iron fist. The tyrant of cabin 10 who didn’t want her there. Piper tried not to let it get under her skin. There was only one family member who mattered to her. Not these stuck-up neat freaks in their life-sized barbie doll house. And last she’d seen he was chained to a stake next to a purple bonfire.

Everyone else was rushing around cleaning up their already impossibly tidy cabin but Piper didn’t have much to tidy. She found herself sitting on her bed and thinking about the ghost story Clarisse had told them last night.

The parallels between her and Silena’s story unnerved her more than she could say. She had started out feeling ignored and overlooked by her parents. So she acted out, maybe in a less obvious way than Piper did but she couldn’t say she didn’t understand. There had been so many times she wished her father wasn’t an actor at all. That he was just some boring guy in office who drove a minivan instead of a convertible and fixed Piper peanut butter and jelly instead of having his private chef do it.

But Silena’s betrayal had still left a wake of grief and destruction behind her. Clarisse’s crying face had haunted Piper’s dreams last night. Now it turned out she had only been the first. Now it was Piper’s turn. The Aphrodite traitor who would bring about destruction or lose everyone she loved.

“‘Scuse me,” said a voice by her feet. The garbage patrol guy, Mitchell, was crawling around on all fours, picking up chocolate wrappers and crumpled notes from under the bunk beds. Apparently the Aphrodite kids weren‘t one hundred percent neat freaks after all.

She moved out of his way. “What‘d you do to make Drew mad?”

He glanced over at the bathroom door to make sure it was still closed. “Last night, after you were claimed, I said you might not be so bad.”

It wasn‘t much of a compliment, but Piper was stunned. An Aphrodite kid had actually stood up for her?

“Thanks,” she said.

Mitchell shrugged. “Yeah, well. See where it got me. But for what it‘s worth, welcome to Cabin Ten.”

A girl with blond pigtails and braces raced up with a pile of clothes in her arms. She looked around furtively like she was delivering nuclear materials. She shoved the clothes into Piper’s arms, quickly explained that her siblings had taken up a collection of supplies and clothes for her quest, wished her luck, and tried to rush off. When Piper caught her arm and insisted on thanking her, she learned the kids were afraid of Drew finding out and sentencing one of them to the Shoes of Shame. A pair of white nurses shoes that don’t go with anything.

“And there‘re worse punishments,” Mitchell warned. “Drew can charmspeak, see? Not many Aphrodite kids have that power; but if she tries hard enough, she can get you to do some pretty embarrassing things. Piper, you‘re the first person I‘ve seen in a long time who is able to resist her.”

“Charmspeak …” Piper remembered last night, the way the crowd at the campfire had swayed back and forth between Drew‘s opinion and hers. How Reyna had frozen in place when she’d told her to stop. “You mean, like, you could talk someone into doing things. Or … giving you things. Like a car?”

“Oh, don‘t give Drew any ideas!” Lacy gasped.

“But yeah,” Mitchell said. “She could do that.”

“So that‘s why she‘s head counselor,” Piper said. “She convinced you all?”

Mitchell picked a nasty wad of gum from under Piper‘s bed. “Nah, she inherited the post when Silena Beauregard died in the war. Drew was second oldest. Oldest camper automatically gets the post, unless somebody with more years or more completed quests wants to challenge, in which case there‘s a duel, but that hardly ever happens. ”

“Silena Beauregaurd…” Piper echoed “The traitor?”

Mitchell’s face twisted in anger “I don’t know who told you told you that. But—”

“Yes. She was.” Suddenly Drew was there, leaning against the bunk. Lacy squeaked like a guinea pig and tried to run, but Drew put an arm out to stop her. She kept her eyes trained on Piper “Oh, the other cabins don’t like to talk to talk about it. They like to pretend like Silena was a big hero just because she went and got herself killed by a drakon for no good reason.” She talked like they were good friends having a nice gossip.

Drew smiled all sweet and innocent, with her glittery pink makeup and her blow-dried hair lush and smelling like nutmeg. She looked like any popular teenage girl from any high school. But her eyes were as cold as steel.

“She led the Aproditie cabin into battle. She rallied the Ares cabin as reinforcements to safe our hides. She _was_ a hero!” Mitchell spat. Piper glanced around the cabin, desperate to look anywhere but at them, and found the rest of the cabin had the opposite idea. Like they wanted to see how this would play out.

“Mmm-hmm.” Drew said “I think you missed some trash, sweetie. You‘d better make another pass. Another day of garbage patrol will do you good, hon.”

Piper glanced toward the bathroom and saw that Drew had dumped everything from the bathroom waste bin—some pretty nasty things—all over the floor.

Mitchell sat up on his haunches. He glared at Drew like he was about to attack (which Piper would‘ve paid money to see), but finally he snapped, “Fine.”

Drew smiled as he stormed off “But we were her family, hon. We knew her better than that.” She said to Piper as if nothing had happened “Don’t you think if Silena had really wanted to make things right she would’ve confessed after Kronos killed her boyfriend? She sure made a show of crying over it. Or talked Clarisse into helping fight the battle in the first place? I know _I_ could have.”

“No.” She said.

Drew looked at her like a dog that had just peed on the floor “What?”

The rest of the cabin was nodding in agreement and Piper realized Drew was charm speaking them. She was ruining Silena Beauregard’s reputation and Piper was sure she’d do the same to her once the truth came out.

“No!” Piper said, stronger this time. If she was ever going to have a chance to defend herself, it had to be now “She was just scared. The Titans could have revealed her and turned the entire camp against her. Everyone she cared about would have hated her for a mistake she made when she was angry and manipulated. And you’ve brought her worst fears to life!”

For a moment, the cabin was silent. Staring at Piper like she was making a lot of sense.

“Oh, don’t be stupid people! She’s charm-speaking you!” Drew scolded, then turned to Piper and sniffed “Besides, what are you saying? That it dosen’t matter than Silena was a traitor as long as she was scared?”

Piper tried to respond but the word wouldn’t come. Of course, it wasn’t like she was off the hook either.

Drew smiled a vicious smile “You see, hon.” She said real sweet “Silena did have a way out. Take her boyfriend for instance, that ugly Hephaestus boy, Beckendrof. She could’ve broken his heart at any time. That’s what children of Aphrodite do, after all. But Silena refused her rite of passage.”

“Wait. Rite of passage?” Piper shook her head confused

The girls and guys giggled and shoved each other around like this was an embarrassing topic.

“The rite of passage for an Aphrodite child,” one explained. “You get someone to fall in love with you. Then you break their heart. Dump them. Once you do that, you‘ve proven yourself worthy of Aphrodite.”

Piper stared at the crowd to see if they were joking. “Break someone‘s heart on purpose? That‘s terrible!”

The others looked confused.

“See, people!” Drew said with victory in her eyes “Silena said the same thing. She rejected her mother! And look where it got her.”

“That‘s not true!” Lacy squeaked, but Drew glared at her, and she immediately melted back into the crowd.

“Hardly matters,” Drew continued, “because, Piper, hon, you couldn‘t break anyone‘s heart anyway. Now, it‘s time for breakfast, people, and Piper here has to start that little quest. So let‘s get her packed and get her out of here!”

Drew broke up the crowd and got everyone moving. She called them “hon” and “dear” but her tone made it clear she expected to be obeyed. Mitchell and Lacy helped Piper pack. They even guarded the bathroom while Piper went in and changed into a better traveling outfit. The hand-me-downs weren‘t fancy—thank god—just well-worn jeans, a T-shirt, a comfortable winter coat, and hiking boots that fit perfectly. She strapped her dagger, Katoptris, to her belt.

When Piper came out, she felt almost normal again. The other campers were standing at their bunks while Drew came around and inspected. Piper turned to Mitchell and Lacy and mouthed, _Thank you_. Mitchell nodded grimly. Lacy flashed a full-braces smile. Piper doubted Drew had ever thanked them for anything.

When Drew spotted her, she clapped in mock applause “Wonderful! Dumpster girl’s back in her dumpster clothes again! Ready to take on the world with her stupid quest!” She said with a tone dripping with sarcasm

Piper shouldered her bag “You’re wrong about Silena.” She managed

Drew smiled sweetly “Well of course _you’d_ say that. You and Silena have exactly the same problem. She wanted to get in on the action, too. Especially after she befriended that sasquatch in Cabin 5. She lost sight of what this Cabin is about. We match up cute couples at camp! Then we break them apart and start over! It‘s the best fun ever.”

“Shut up.” Piper growled

“We don‘t have any business getting involved in other stuff like wars and quests. Oh, you’d make Silena so proud going on a big quest like this!” Drew said with fake sweetness “Honestly what good do you think _you’ll_ be? You’ll probably just spend the whole trip hiding behind that little sasquatch of your own.”

“Shut up!” Piper snapped “You don’t know the first thing about me _or_ Reyna.”

Drew’s smile was so sweet it could’ve caused diabetes “And you do?”

Piper bit back a curse. She wasn’t sure how Drew had learned about her fake memories but it didn’t matter. She was right. She didn’t know Reyna at all, even Rachel had said so.

But her mind ran backwards, to Reyna’s determined look as she’d braved entering the battle with the storm spirits again to save Leo and Coach Hedge, who she also hadn’t known for even a day. How she’d locked eyes with her in the amphitheater. _Convince them._ She’d told her last night she’d wanted her for the quest but she’d also wanted Piper to fight for it and earn it herself. How she’d pretended not to notice Clarisse’s tears and gave her the privacy to mourn in peace.

She remembered the words Reyna had whispered in her ear when she’d been unconscious yesterday. _“You’d better be okay. Because if you’re not I will break somebody’s nose over it. Possibly several.”_

“I know she knows more about love than you ever will.” Piper managed

Drew laughed hysterically “More about love? You think she knows more about love than _me_?”

“You don’t know anything about love. You only know how to manipulate and hurt people!” She turned to the rest of the cabin. She could just leave and forget about it. That would‘ve been the easy thing. What did she care about this cabin, these shallow kids?

Except that some of them had tried to help her. Some of them had even stood up to Drew for her.

“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to listen to Drew. You know there’s more to Aphrodite than this.” She said

“More than this.” one kid echoed.

“Think for ourselves.” a second muttered.

“People!” Drew screeched. “Don‘t be stupid! She‘s charm-speaking you.”

“No. I‘m just telling the truth.” Piper said, she turned and made for the door “You can decide for yourselves what love is but you _know_ it’s not this.”

Once she was out of the cabin Drew started laughing behind her. “Not this? Hear that, people? She doesn‘t have a clue!”

Piper promised herself she would never ever go back to that cabin. She blinked away her tears and stormed across the green, not sure where she was going—until she saw the dragon swooping down from the sky.

“Leo?” She yelled

Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, “Don‘t kill me!” Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, “It‘s cool! Don‘t shoot!”

The warriors warily formed a lose circle around the dragon. They didn’t seem eager to attack or to retreat. Piper couldn’t blame them for not wanting to get close, the thing was sixty feet long and made entirely of bronze. It glistened in the morning sun like a living, fire-breathing penny sculpture.

“It‘s beautiful,” Piper muttered. The other demigods stared at her like she was insane.

“People of Earth, I come in peace!” Leo shouted as he slid off the dragon’s back. He looked like he‘d been rolling around in the campfire. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked absolutely delighted. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

“That thing is dangerous!” Clarisse shouted, brandishing her spear. “Kill it now!”

“Stand down!” someone ordered.

To Piper’s surprise, it was Reyna, riding onto the scene with Percy on Blackjack, followed by Chiron. Chiron looked very concerned, Percy looked somewhat concerned, and Reyna was staring at the dragon with absolute delight.

“Leo,” She said with a wide smile cutting across her face “Is this what I think it is?”

Leo beamed with pride “I said I’d get us transportation and I am nothing if not a man of my word. Step aboard!” He gestured like an old-school carnival man enticing small children.

Reyna jumped off Blackjack with ease and raced the rest of the way up to the dragon, closer than any other camper besides Leo dared. She traced her hand along the bumps and grooves in the dragon’s hide. Her expression one of total awe as Festus watched her curiously.

“When you said you had idea for transportation I thought you meant hotwiring a car or something.” She admitted

Leo laughed “That’s the second time you’ve wanted me to hotwire something. What is it with you girls and auto theft?”

Reyna responded with a friendly punch in the arm

“Ow! Careful about damaging the Leo.” He said “But, yeah, he’s a little more impressive than a Subaru, huh? Festus can take us anywhere!”

Reyna laughed “Wait you named him Festus? You know that means “happy” in Latin, right? You want us to ride off and save the world on Happy the Bronze fire breathing dragon? That sounds like a kids book or something.”

“It has wings!” Nyssa’s voice cried out from the crowd “How does it have wings!”

Reyna looked at Leo with a teasing smile “Don’t tell me you built this whole thing, Valdez?”

Leo blushed “Ah, that might be giving me _slightly_ too much credit. I don’t think Pops himself could make something this cool in only one night. I just found him in the woods, attached some wings and badda bing, badda boom.”

“But it never had wings before.” Nyssa protested “And you couldn’t have made those in one night either. Where did you find them?”

Leo hesitated, and Piper could tell he was hiding something.

“In … the woods,” he said. “Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire.”

“Mostly?” Nyssa asked.

The dragon‘s head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid—maybe oil, hopefully just oil—poured out of its ear, all over Leo.

“Just a few kinks to work out,” Leo said.

“I’m sorry, my boy.” Chiron spoke up “Did you say you found the wings in the woods?”

Leo looked uncomfortable and now Piper was sure he was hiding something but Reyna stepped in “Does it matter? We have sky-born transportation with built in defense systems and armor three inches thick! This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in my life! How fast can it go? How far can it breath fire? Are there seatbelts?” Then she realized everyone was staring at her and quickly rearranged her face into the calm, regal expression she usually wore. She cleared her throat “I mean…um… It’s very impressive, Valdez. Good job.”

Leo was smiling like an idiot anyway. Piper knew it wasn’t often he got that much praise. “Uh, not sure, not sure, and yes.”

“But how did you survive … ?” Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. “I mean, the fire breath …”

“I‘m quick,” Leo said. “And lucky. Now, are we gonna start this quest, or what?”

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.

“I take it that’s a yes.” Reyna said, climbing on the dragon’s back with ease “Hey, Piper! Get up here! It has seat warmers!” She cried with delight

Piper stepped forward hesitantly. She tried to keep herself from looking at the dragon’s talon’s that could rip her to shreds but it wasn’t easy.

Reyna helped her aboard and regarded Percy as Leo got himself situated “Find your girlfriend.” She said, her sine as straight as ever “We’ll handle saving the world.”

Percy just smiled at her. He was staring at the dragon wistfully, like it reminded him or better times. “Yeah. You’ll do great.” He said

With that, Festus took off into the sky and soon Camp Half-Blood was nothing but a blip behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this chapter out today because I won't be able to update for about another two weeks, as my family is going on vacation. Hope y'all enjoyed it! Next time, we finally get a Leo chapter!


	7. Leo I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! We get to my boy!

Leo was totally buzzing.

The expression on everyone‘s faces when he flew the dragon into camp? Priceless! He thought his cabinmates were going to bust a lug nut.

But the best part had been the look on Reyna’s face. He’d almost thought he’d broken her to see so much excitement on her face. That girl had a serious stick up her butt. Even in Leo’s fake memories, where they were supposed to be friends, Reyna had always been more of a stern boss, telling him and Piper off for doing stupid things and telling them to eat their vegetables, than someone Leo could see himself hanging out at the mall with. They didn’t get along great, as Leo always made it his mission to prank the hell out of anyone that uptight. Figures he’d end up alone with two gorgeous girls and still strike out.

When he’d first found out those memories were just a trick of the mist, he’d been hopeful about getting a chance for a do-over with Reyna. Maybe she’d be friendly or at least get off his case. Heck maybe if he was _really_ lucky… but he never was. As soon as he saw her at the campfire, commanding and beautiful in the firelight as she took charge of the situation Leo lost hope pretty quick. No way a girl that far out of his league would ever see him as more than the handy man who occasionally hotwired things.

When Reyna was done filling them in on her dream and the plan Leo whistled. “So … giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn‘t the time to bring up my psycho babysitter.”

“Is that a joke?” Reyna asked. “I can’t tell if that’s a joke.”

Leo told them about Tía Callida, who was really Hera, and how she‘d appeared to him at camp. How she used to babysit him and occasionally try to kill him in various ways when he was little. He didn‘t tell them about his fire abilities. That was still a touchy subject, especially after Nyssa had told him fire demigods tended to destroy cities and stuff. Besides, then Leo would have to get into how he‘d caused his mom‘s death, and … No. He wasn‘t ready to go there. He did manage to tell about the night she died, not mentioning the fire, just saying the machine shop collapsed. It was easier without having to look at his friends, just keeping his eyes straight ahead as they flew.

“That’s… disturbing.” Piper finally said

“Bout sums it up.” Leo agreed

“I don’t understand. Why did she call herself Tia if she was your Abuela?” Reyna said

“Dude, I don’t it’s worse that I just realized Tia Callida is my evil grandma or that that’s your concern right now!” Leo snapped but Reyna only shrugged. “Thing is, everybody says don‘t trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we‘d cause death if we unleash her rage. So I‘m wondering … why are we doing this?”

“Because if we don’t the world ends.” Reyna said

“Oh right. Thanks for that.” Leo muttered

“I’m serious.” Reyna pressed “Whatever our personal grudges against the queen of the gods, we must put them aside for the good of this quest and the sake of the world. If we let anger rule our judgement, everything will be lost.”

“Thank you fucking Plato.” Leo grumbled but Reyna only sighed like he was being very unreasonable

A good minute passed before Piper broke the silence. “Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all—something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who‘s controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods—"

“Might be that weird sleeping lady,” Leo finished. “Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see.”

“But who is she?” Piper asked. “And what does she have to do with giants?”

Good questions, but none of them had answers. They flew in silence while Leo wondered if he‘d done the right thing, sharing so much. He‘d never told anyone about that night at the warehouse. Even if he hadn‘t give them the whole story, it still felt strange, like he‘d opened up his chest and taken out all the gears that made him tick. His body was shaking, and not from the cold.

Festus kept flying. The wind got colder, and below them snowy forests seemed to go on forever. Leo didn‘t know exactly where Quebec was. He‘d told Festus to take them to the palace of Boreas, and Festus kept going north. Hopefully, the dragon knew the way, and they wouldn‘t end up at the North Pole.

He felt Reyna behind him place a hand on his back “You should get some rest. You were up all-night working on Festus.”

Leo wanted to protest, but sleep sounded really good. “You won‘t let me fall off?”

“It’d be pretty shit for everyone if I did.” Reyna said with a hint of humor in her voice, as if they were sharing a joke Leo didn’t get, but he didn’t feel like pressing. He laid down on the dragon’s warm neck and shut his eyes.

It seemed he slept only for seconds, but when Reyna shook him awake, the daylight was fading.

“Wake up. We’re here.” She said

Leo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Below them, a city sat on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around it were dusted with snow, but the city itself glowed warmly in the winter sunset. Buildings crowded together inside high walls like a medieval town, way older than any place Leo had seen before. In the center was an actual castle—at least Leo assumed it was a castle—with massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof.

“Tell me that‘s Quebec and not Santa‘s workshop.” Leo said.

―Yeah, Quebec City,” Piper confirmed. “One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Your dad do a movie about that too?”

Reyna looked confused “Movie?”

“I keep forgetting about your amnesia! But yeah her dad’s Tristen McLean.”

“The guy from the Sparta movie? Oh! That’s what you meant at the Grand Canyon. When you said—”

“Yeah! Okay! My dad’s abs are more famous than all of Quebec! We get it.” Piper snapped

Leo whistled. He knew Piper didn’t like talking about her dad and how uber-famous he was but he was pretty sure she’d never bit someone’s head off quite like that.

Reyna was quiet for a moment before speaking again “Is it true he had to follow a strict diet of chicken and veggies for months leading up to filming? And that he had to dehydrate for three days before those shirtless scenes? Really the studio should be ashamed of themselves. For that and the horrible historical inaccuracies.”

Piper sighed behind them “Yeah, maybe. Can we just not talk about my dad right now.” She sounded tired though Leo wasn’t sure why.

“Uh, that won’t be an issue Beauty Queen. We’re about to have company.” Leo said, pointing below them to the two winged figures with nasty looking swords—like angry angles—flying towards them from the top of a tower on the castle-looking building.

Festus didn‘t like the angel guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that Leo recognized. He was getting ready to blow fire.

“Easy, boy.” Leo muttered.

Up close, the angle dudes looked like regular teenagers except for their icy white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Their faces looked similar enough that they might‘ve been brothers, but they definitely weren‘t twins. One was the size of an ox and had clearly had been in too many fights. The other guy looked like he‘d just stepped off one of Leo‘s mom‘s 1980s rock album covers—Journey, maybe, or Hall & Oates, or something even lamer. Maybe he thought he looked like a groovy love god, but the guy couldn‘t have weighed more than ninety pounds, and he had a bad case of acne.

The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready, and informed them they were about to be destroyed for flying in restricted airspace.

“Restricted airspace? You serve Boreas then?” Reyna said

The groovy one rolled his eyes “Serve? Please, manish girl, we are his children.”

“Manish?” Reyna echoed, but the love god just kept talking

“I am Zethes. But the pretty girl can call me… any time!” Zethes declared with a wink at Piper, but it looked more like a facial seizure. When Leo looked back at the girls, both looked like they were fighting the urge to strangle this guy. “Oh, I suppose this is my brother Calais.”

“Cal!” The ox shouted

Zethes sighed “You must excuse him. He in unable to speak words that include more than two syllables. Which includes his name.”

“Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!” Cal demonstrated

“Yes, thank you Cal. He is not as good company as me. Not nearly as romantic or attractive yes?” Zethes waggled his eyebrows at Piper

Reyna saved Piper from having to answer by clearing her throat loudly “We have come to request an audience with your father at the behest of Queen Hera. Either permit us entry or inform your father to meet us on the ground.”

Zethes laughed “Oh please, bossy girl. It dosen’t matter who sent you, Boreas will not meet you on the ground, he is a god of the wind after all! And my sister would have an avalanche if I allowed you—”

“But it’s an emergency Our dragon’s malfunctioning and if we don’t land and calm him down, he could start spewing fire everywhere!” Piper forced a smile, which must’ve been killing her but she still had that blessing of Aphrodite thing going on, and she looked great. Something about her voice, too—Leo found himself believing every word. “Please, isn’t there anything you could do?”

“No destroy?” Cal whimpered

Zethes pondered the problem. Then he gave Piper another spasmodic wink. “Well, you are pretty. I mean, you‘re right. Certainly no one wants a fire breathing dragon wreaking havoc. Least of all us.”

“Destroy them later?” Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.

“Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us.” Zethes said. He and his brother sheathed their swords and began guiding them towards the castle building.

“He didn’t say we wouldn’t be destroyed.” Reyna grumped “Keep on your guard.”

They landed in what must look like a penthouse suite; but the place had been hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right. But the ice made the room‘s beauty a little frightening. When Leo slid off the dragon, the carpet crunched under his feet. A fine layer of frost covered the furniture. The curtains didn‘t budge because they were frozen solid, and the ice-coated windows let in weird watery light from the sunset. Even the ceiling was furry with icicles. As for the stairs, Leo was sure he‘d slip and break his neck if he tried to climb them.

“Guys,” Leo said, “fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in.”

Reyna didn’t seem as keen on the idea. As soon as she was off Festus’s back she was shivering, stuffing her hands in her pockets, trying to keep warm.

“ _I friggin hate the cold.”_ She muttered in Spanish.

Leo couldn’t help but laugh. She looked so different from the confident powerhouse facing down storm spirits and buff demigods.

Zethes and Cal insisted Festus be deactivated but instead Leo was able to turn him into a suitcase instead. But that turned out not to be the best idea either because as soon as Festus was safely tucked away, they drew their swords on him, saying they smelled fire on him.

If it hadn‘t been like three degrees in the penthouse, Leo would‘ve started sweating. “Hey … look … I don‘t know—" He glanced at his friends desperately. “Guys, a little help?”

Reyna stepped forward, a familiar scary look on her face “We have no desire for violence. We are here only for a short time to gather information and then we will be on our way. I don’t know what your issue with Leo is but he is not trained as a warrior. If you draw first blood we will be fully justified in defending ourselves.” She summoned her spear to make her point clear and Leo felt a surge of gratitude, even if his pride was a little wounded.

“That won’t be necessary, daughter of Bellona.” A girls voice said

Leo looked up the staircase. His heart nearly stopped. At the top stood a girl in a white silk dress. Her skin was unnaturally pale, the color of snow, but her hair was a lush mane of black, and her eyes were coffee brown. She focused on Leo with no expression, no smile, no friendliness. But it didn‘t matter. Leo was in love. She was the most dazzling girl he‘d ever seen.

“As much as I’d enjoy seeing my foolish brothers knocked around a bit, Father has granted you an audience.” The girl said “Please follow me. Your friends will stay here, unharmed, unless you cause trouble.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow “Why just me?”

“I mean you are the leader.” Piper said

Reyna looked surprised “What? No I’m not.”

“Uh, yeah you are.” Leo argued

“No. I’m the…” She trailed off, which wasn’t like her

“Did you forget the word in English?” Leo guessed, smiling

“Shut up!” She snapped but didn’t deny it. She turned her attention to the girl “These two are under my protection. I won’t leave them.”

The girl considered this “Very well, Piper McLean may accompany you. Your presence will confuse my father, but that can be dealt with. Leo Valdez, however, must stay here. He cannot be allowed in the presence of my father. Fire and ice—it would not be wise.”

Reyna and Piper looked at Leo, their expressions asking him a silent question: _How do you want to play this?_

Leo felt a surge of gratitude. They were ready to fight for him. They wouldn‘t leave him alone with the hockey ox. Part of him wanted to go for it, bust out his new tool belt and see what he could do, maybe even summon a fireball or two and warm this place up. But the brothers scared him. And that gorgeous girl scared him more, even if he still wanted her number.

“It‘s fine, guys,” he said. “No sense causing trouble if we don‘t have to. You go ahead.”

“Listen to your friend,” the pale girl said. “Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. Now come, King Boreas is waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a headcanon that Reyna hates the cold for years now because every place she's lived has a pretty warm climate. I'm glad I got to use that here as some good foreshadowing.


	8. Reyna IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where we start to see some bigger changes emerge from the original book to this version. With bigger changes to come of course!eve

Maybe it was jumping the gun to decide you were having the worst day of your life when you only remembered two days of it but that’s just how Reyna felt.

She tried to swallow down everything she was feeling but it was all too much. She could ignore the flash of anger when Zethes had insulted her. She could crush the feeling of jealousy when Piper had succeeded where she’d failed by batting her eyelashes. But there was nothing she could so about the dread hanging over her as she and Piper marched between the ice princess and Zethes.

Zethes had a sword drawn that Reyna assumed would turn her into an icicle if he struck her with it. But it was his sister that concerned Reyna.

Daughter of Bellona, she’d called her. And Reyna knew instinctively it was true. Her mother was Bellona, goddess of war, conquest, destruction, bloodlust and other real cheerful stuff like that. But there hadn’t been any mention of her at Cam Half-blood. No cabin in her honor. Something in her gut told her that wasn’t an accident. This was dangerous information.

Something must’ve shown on her face because Piper put her hand on her shoulder but Reyna brushed her off. She didn’t want to be coddled just then.

“Excuse me.” She said to the ice princess “But who are you exactly?”

The girl sniffed with distaste. “I suppose I shouldn‘t be surprised you don‘t recognize me. Even in the ancient times the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow.”

She stirred the air with her finger, and a miniature blizzard swirled around her—big, fluffy flakes as soft as cotton.

“Now, come.” Khione said in a tone that said further questions wouldn’t be welcomed and she continued leading them past frosty tapestries.

They arrived at the end of the hallway in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner was a man‘s bearded face, blowing wind. Reyna was pretty sure she‘d seen maps like this before. But in this version, all the wind guys were Winter, blowing ice and snow from every corner of the world.

The princess turned. She regarded Reyna with a frown but her eyes danced with amusement which made a shiver travel down Reyna spine.

“This is the throne room.” she said. “Be on your best behavior, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. My father can be … chilly. I will translate for you and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you.”

Chiron had said Boreas was the friendliest of the wind gods. Apparently that meant he didn‘t kill heroes quite as fast as the others did. Her stomach did backflips. Piper and Leo had called her the leader but that wasn’t how Reyna saw it. _The Dove and Forge shall break the cage_ the prophecy had said. In other words, they were the ones who were going to save the world. Reyna was just along for the ride, making sure they didn’t die in the process. If things went bad here, she wasn‘t sure how she would get them out alive. Maybe if she bought Leo enough time to reactive Festus… But no, he was back there with Cal, who was just itching for an excuse to destroy them.

“You said our presence would confuse him.” Piper said “What did you mean by that?”

The snow goddess smiled like a child who’s built a giant tower out of blocks and couldn’t wait to knock them down “You will see.” The oaken doors blew open, and cold blue light spilled out of the room and Reyna bit back a curse as even more intense cold spilled out. “Now come, the king awaits your presence.”

Mist hung in the air. Reyna had been fighting back her shivers since she got here for fear of looking weak in front of the Boreads on their home tuft but this was just too much. A layer of snow covered the floor, so Reyna had to step carefully. She got the impression slipping and falling on her but would not make the best first impression of the North Wind. All around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors—some in Greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage—all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.

At least Reyna thought they were sculptures. But when she tried to step between two Greek spearmen, and they moved with surprising speed, their joints cracking and spraying ice crystals as they crossed their javelins to block Reyna‘s path.

From the far end of the hall, a man‘s voice rang out in a language that sounded like French. The room was so long and misty, Reyna couldn‘t see the other end; but whatever the man said, the ice guards uncrossed their javelins.

“It‘s fine.” Khione said. “My father has ordered them not to kill you just yet.”

They kept walking, and the mist parted to reveal a man on an ice throne. He was sturdily built, dressed in a stylish white suit that seemed woven from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. His long hair and shaggy beard were encrusted with icicles, so Reyna couldn‘t tell if his hair was gray or just white with frost. His arched eyebrows made him look angry, but his eyes twinkled more warmly than his daughter‘s—as if he might have a sense of humor buried somewhere under that permafrost. Reyna hoped so.

The king addressed them in French, and Khinoe began to translate when Piper stepped forward and began speaking t the god in perfect French. The king laughed and clapped his hands, obviously delighted. However, as soon as he turned his attention to Reyna, his expression soured. He placed a hand to his temple as if he was having a bad migraine.

“Uh, your majesty?” Reyna tried “Is everything all right?”

“I warned you this would happen. Two demigods of your lineage together… it is dangerous.” Khinoe said, smiling like this was her idea of fun

The god‘s form flickered back and forth. Sometimes Boreas but sometimes another man with the same face but dressed in a roman togaa, clean shaven, taller and thinner. His head was crowned with a frosty laurel wreath, and a gladius—a Roman sword—hung at his side. Finally it seemed the other form won out and the wind god, shook his head and stared at them, as if he’d just realized they were there.

“Aquilon?” Reyna asked cautiously, an odd mixture of fear and relief in her stomach she couldn’t explain

“Yes?” The god said, tilting his head curiously “I’m sorry what was I doing again?”

“You were about to kill these demigods, as your lord Aeolus has ordered you. Remember Father?” Khione said innocently. Reyna felt like she’d been slapped.

“You were also about to gift the pretty girl to me.” Zethus added helpfully. He reached out a hand to run his fingers though Piper’s hair but Reyna slapped his hand away. He winced and sent Reyna an angry glare but did not attack. Apparently his daddy already had that handled. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Piper giving her a grateful look.

Aquilon scratched his chin and regarded his daughter “I was given orders to destroy any demigods I came across wasn’t I? And yet…”

His eyes moved back to Piper and he began to wince with a headache before as his form flickered again, and Boreas was back in his old body.

“Ah! Stop doing that!” he complained. Reyna looked at Piper but saw she was just as confused as she was. “Now what was I saying? Oh right, killing demigods, I remember now. Ah, but I do have such a soft spot for demigods. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods—"

“Which explains why they are idiots.” Khione growled.

“Stop it!” Zethes snapped back. “Just because you were born a full goddess—”

“Wait, you’re a demigod?” Piper interrupted

Zethes waggled his eyebrows at her in a way that should’ve been illegal “Hard to believe all this awesome could be contained in only a half god is it not? But it is true, I was born a demigod. Then, later in life, my brother and I sailed upon the Argos with Jason and were rewarded for our heroism with immortality. So that I could look this good for all time and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey.”

“Jason? He was the son of… Jupiter?” Reyna tried to remember but it gave her that brain freeze feeling again

“Bah! Not every hero in the old days was a son of Zues, you know.” Zethes grumbled

“He was mortal.” Piper said “No godly parents at all, right?”

Zethes grinned at her “Ah, pretty and smart! Yes, Jason could see through the mist well enough but he was as mortal as they came. That is why he needed the help of demigods such as myself to succeed on his quests. Oh, I do hope Father decides to freeze you! You will make an excellent statue for me to check my reflection in.”

“Oh will you shut up!” Reyna and Khione snapped at the same time. Which, judging by her expression, the goddess found just as uncomfortable as she did.

Reyna cleared her throat and turned back to their father, who winced and changed back into Aquilon.

“Ah! Stop that!” He complained, placing a hand on his head, but then he sighed and relaxed “I am sorry. This is not your fault. Truly these are unusual circumstances, yes?”

“Reyna, what’s happening? Why does he keep changing shape?” Piper asked, grabbing her arm, sounding desperate and scared. Just how Reyna felt

“It’s his Roman form. Somehow I…” Reyna didn’t want to finish the sentence but she suspected somehow she was causing him to change shape. But how that was possible she didn’t know.

Aquilon waved his hand and an icy wind blew through the room. As he spoke, he was careful only to look at Reyna and not Piper. “Oh, it’s not that complicated really. Gods exist as we are perceived by mortals to be. You, daughter of Bellona, are only capable of viewing the Roman side of me. But your friend is more attuned to the older, Greek versions.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Reyna said because she didn’t know what else to say

The humor she had seen in Boreas’s eyes wasn’t there any more but there was a hint of kindness. Still, he wasn’t smiling and Reyna suspected she was making a horrible impression by causing him all these headaches and transformations. “Well, if nothing else, you have my attention. Speak, and then I will decide your fate.”

Reyna did a poor job of telling the story. Her confidence abandoned her and the words seemed to stick in her throat. Several times, Piper came in and took over, telling the events much better than Reyna could have. Every time she spoke, Reyna could see how her voice pleased the wind god, even if he didn’t dare to look at her, and that just made her more nervous and the whole process would repeat itself.

“All we ask for is guidance.” Piper concluded. “These storm spirits attacked us, and they‘re working for some evil mistress. If we find them, maybe we can find Hera.”

The king stroked the icicles in his beard. Out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light came from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue.

“I know of these storm spirits.” Aquilon said. “I know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took.”

“Prisoner? You mean Coach Hedge? He’s alive?” Reyna said

“For now.” Aquilon said neutrally “Still, why should I help you? What do I stand to gain?”

Reyna opened her mouth to respond but Piper beat her too it.

“Hera’s favor!” She cried. Everyone‘s eyes turned toward her. She had to be scared out of her mind, but she looked beautiful and confident—and it had nothing to do with the blessing of Aphrodite, which had long since worn off by now. “Please, your majesty, the queen of the gods herself hangs in the balance. Whoever assists her rescuers will surely be rewarded by the queen’s grace.”

The king burst out laughing, even his children were chuckling, then he looked embarrassed when he realized the girls didn’t get the joke.

“You don’t know why that’s funny do you?” he said to Reyna with an amused glint in his eye, and Reyna felt a strange similarity to when Lupa had made her “saving grace” joke “Ah, sorry about that. Carry on.”

Piper glanced at Reyna, worried she’d messed up. But Reyna silently told her to continue. She’d made a good argument, after all. And she was beautiful so it would go over better coming from her. “If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You‘d look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. We could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins.”

“She‘s pretty.” Zethes mumbled. “I mean, she‘s right.”

“Not to mention,” Piper pressed “That those who hinder our quest would probably be on the receiving end of Zeus’s rage. I’m told he and Poseidon once almost started World War III over a missing lighting bolt. Do you want to see what happens when his _wife_ is stolen?”

Aquilon scratched his chin and for a moment Reyna was scared she’d gone to far.

“Very well then. You shall find the woman who commands the storm spirits in Chicago, the winds city. Capture a few of them and use them to gain entry to Aeolus’s court. He alone can tell you where your goddess is.”

“Father!” Khione snapped “Aeolus commanded you to kill these demigods! Do not be fooled by her charmspeak, freeze them now!”

Reyna made a mental note to ask Piper what she meant by that but didn’t have time to linger on it. If the king turned against them they’d have to run and fast. If Zethes and Khione weren’t enough of a problem, Reyna had no idea how she was supposed to fight their father.

But Aquilon held up his hand “Silence daughter!” He said in a firm voice. Khione looked furious and Reyna got the sense there was some ongoing family argument going on between them “Don’t you see? There is no need to destroy them. If history is any indicator, they will tear each other apart on their own. Go now, heroes. Rescue your little queen and be sure to mention how invaluable my help was to your quest.”

They all bowed, and the god of the North Wind dissolved into mist.

Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo were waiting for them. Leo looked cold but unharmed. He‘d even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes looked newly washed, like he‘d used the hotel‘s valet service. Festus the dragon was back in normal form, snorting fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted.  
As Khione led them down the stairs, Reyna noticed that Leo‘s eyes followed her. Leo started combing his hair back with his hands. Reyna rolled her eyes.

At the bottom step, Khione turned to Piper. “You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. As for you, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano,” She pondered her, looking her up and down like she was trying to figure out how much she weighed, then she sighed “It is a shame you have chosen to heed Hera’s request. A girl of your talents could find many… alternative employers.”

Reyna wasn’t sure what she meant by that. Was she offering her a job? Doing what? Reyna couldn’t fly or freeze things like Khione or her brothers or talk people into doing odd things like Piper or fix and build mechanical wonders like Leo. She was just a girl with a spear, what could she do that was so impressive?

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. And in the future please do keep your brothers in check.”

Khione smiled and it sent shivers down Reyna’s spine “A shame.” She repeated before turning and disappearing up the stairs and Reyna got the oddest impression she really meant it.

Leo looked disappointed to see her go “Wait she didn’t want to say hello or anything?” He said

“Don’t get your hopes up Leo. Something tells me you’re not her type.” Piper said which didn’t seem to make him feel better.

“That is very much a good thing.” Zethes said as he opened the hanger door

“Bad sister.” Cal agreed

“Come on, we’re heading to Chicago.” Reyna said, already climbing aboard Festus and practically melting into his warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Insecure woman worried everyone at gym will stare at her perfectly chiseled body. More at 11.


	9. Piper IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where everyone falls out of the sky! How will our heroes survive without Jason's flying powers? With a good helping of angst as it turns out!

The mood on Happy the magic dragon wasn’t real cheerful. No one had said anything since they’d left the ice palace and Quebec was now nothing more than a glowing spot in the distance.

Piper could practically see Reyna’s bad mood wafting off of her as they flew, not that she could blame her. The things they’d learned in Boreas’s castle bothered her too. The way Boreas had changed shape when talking to Reyna had felt wrong somehow. He’d said these were unusual circumstances, not just like it was something that didn’t happen but like it was something that _shouldn’t_ happen. It put Piper on edge, like they were doing something wrong, something dangerous. She couldn’t shake the feeling it had something to do with why they’d called Reyna a daughter of Bellona. Piper had studied the gods extensively but she’d never heard of a Bellona before.

Then there was the way Boreas’s children had treated her. Zethes overlooking and ignoring everything she said while ogling Piper like a piece of meat (God, she was glad the blessing of Aphrodite had faded) and Khione looking at her like a toy she might enjoy playing with for a little while. Reyna kept trying to convince them to do the right thing, appealing to a sense of duty this family did not possess. Piper had gotten further in their talks by batting her eyelashes then Reyna did with the whole force of her commanding presence behind her. She suspected that had ticked Reyna of because honestly it had ticked Piper off.

She remembered how Reyna had defended her from Zethes’s creepy hair-touching, probably saving her from becoming an ice statue at the same time, like it was nothing and felt shame creeping up her chest. Was batting her eyelashes and talking people into doing dumb things all she was good for?

“There’s something that’s been bothering me.” Reyna said finally after Piper wasn’t sure how long of flying in silence “What did they mean by calling you a fire guy Leo?”

Up front Leo flinched “Uh… well you know, dad’s the god of fire and all that.”

Reyna frowned “That’s what you said back at the hotel, too. They didn’t seem satisfied. Can you think of any other reasons?”

Leo refused to look back at them so it was impossible for Piper to see his face but his hands gripped Festus’s reigns so tight his knuckles turned white. Despite this he managed a laugh that sounded so natural Piper wouldn’t have suspected anything was wrong from his voice alone. “Ha! Maybe it was just their way of telling me how hot I am!”

Piper got the feeling he was hiding something. Whatever it was, his mood seemed to be affecting Festus, who grumbled and steamed as he tried to keep himself warm in the cold Canadian air. Happy the Dragon was not so happy.

Reyna also wasn’t satisfied “Leo, we’re on a quest now. We can’t be keeping secrets from each other.”

Now it was Piper’s turn to flinch. She didn’t know what Leo was hiding but she was pretty sure it couldn’t beat being a traitor.

“I’m sure it’s nothing important. They were just paranoid, being ice people and all.” She said, trying to add a little charm into her words though she hated herself for doing it

“Hmm. Yes that makes sense.” Reyna said, sounding a little dazed in a way that gave Piper Déjà vu

Leo still didn’t look back but his grip on the reigns loosened.

She tried to shift the conversation to a more optimistic topic. Unfortunately there weren’t many of those “Coach Hedge is still alive! That’s good right.”

Leo laughed “So these people can kill a goddess but not Coach Hedge? That figures.”

“They might be planning to use him as bait or a hostage.” Reyna suggested

“Then they’re really stupid. Who’s gonna cough up good money for Coach frickin Hedge.”

“He did save your life. Twice, if I recall.” Reyna reminded him “Besides, hostages aren’t always held for ransom, they can be very effective ways of controlling someone’s actions.”

Well, this plan backfired horribly.

Piper had never liked Hedge, but now she wished she’d appreciated him more. She now realized that all the times at school the coach had pushed her, yelled at her to run faster or do more push-ups, or even when he‘d turned his back and let her fight her own battles with the mean girls, the old goat man had been trying to help her in his own irritating way—trying to prepare her for life as a demigod. Now that Piper knew Hedge was alive, she had a strong compulsion to save him.

After a while Piper managed to work up the courage to say something that had been bugging her for a while now “Uh Reyna? I just wanted to say you _are_ the leader. At least that’s how I feel.”

Reyna shook her head “The dove and forge shall break the cage. You two are the ones with the destiny.”

“Oh goodie! We get to break my insane babysitter out of prison and unleash death! Aren’t we so lucky, Pipes?”

Piper ignored him “Reyna you’ve saved my life, like, three times already. You’re this insane badass who fights monsters and body building teens like it’s nothing. You put together this plan to save the world. Face it, you’re the leader.”

Reyna fidgeted in her seat “But I—”

“Well I know I’d lead us off a cliff and frankly I don’t trust Piper after our last group project together.” Leo cut in “So just shut up and accept it. You’re the leader, the boss, the hero to our sidekicks, whatever you wanna call it.”

Reyna was quiet for a moment, then visibly relaxed “Well, I guess if nobody else want the job.”

Piper could just make out a blush on her face and Piper couldn’t help but smile. In her fake memories, Reyna was always such a force to be reckoned with. Now she could appreciate how incomplete that picture of her was. Yes, Reyna was commanding and fierce, but she was also the girl who’d gotten all dorky and excited over a metal dragon and the girl who couldn’t stand the cold. Piper thought she seemed like she could be a cool friend.

Don‘t get ahead of yourself, she chided. You‘ve got bigger problems. This trip won‘t have a happy ending. She was a traitor, just like Silena Beauregard. It was only a matter of time before her friends found out.

Nobody talked. Whatever they might find in Chicago, they all knew Boreas had only let them go because he figured they were already on a suicide mission.

Eventually Piper nodded off where she had a dream about her dad and then the giant holding him hostage threatened her again. When she declared she would find a way to defeat him without betraying her friends he said she needed a lesson in humility and she woke up screaming, free-falling through the air.

Piper tumbled through the sky. Far below she saw city lights glimmering in the early dawn, and several hundred yards away the body of the bronze dragon spinning out of control, its wings limp, fire flickering in its mouth like a badly wired lightbulb.

A body shot past her—Leo, screaming and frantically grabbing at the clouds. “Not coooooool!”

Somewhere above her, she saw Reyna blowing desperately into her Pegasus whistle. For a heartbeat, Piper had hope that Scipio would swoop in and save them all just like he had at the Grand Canyon. Then she caught a glimpse of the expression on Reyna face and it was like the air was ripped from her lungs all over again.

Reyna tucked in her arms and legs and caught up to Piper, tackling her. “We need to get to Leo!” She yelled over the wind “I have a plan.”

Piper could tell she didn’t like the plan but she tucked in her arms and legs and together they plummeted faster until they slammed into Leo, still wriggling and cursing.

“Calm down!” Reyna yelled “Everything’s going to be okay!”

“My dragon!” Leo yelled.

Piper knew there was no way they could help a fifty-ton metal dragon. But before she could try to reason with Leo, she heard an explosion below them. A fireball rolled into the sky from behind a warehouse complex, and Leo sobbed, “Festus!”

Reyna summoned her spear, though Piper wasn’t sure who she was planning to skewer all the way up here. She stared straight below them, her face screwed tight with concentration. Piper could make out details of the factory complex below—warehouses, smokestacks, barbed-wire fences, and parking lots lined with snow-covered vehicles. They were still high enough so that hitting the ground would flatten them into roadkill—or skykill.

“Reyna whatever you’re gonna do…”

Reyna’s teeth were gritted. She had positioned herself so she was on the furthest right of their little cluster of limbs and screaming heads. “Almost… Almost…” She muttered with a face so tense it looked about ready to snap.

The group raced towards them. The roof of one of the warehouses was so close Piper could’ve reached out and touched it when Reyna threw her spear… and Piper and Leo with it.

The next thing Piper knew, she had jolted to a stop, Leo’s face smooshed against her back and her jacket felt like somebody was pulling on it from behind.

Reyna was still falling through the sky. She’d opened her scarf over her head like the world worst parachute. It slowed her fall a little but not nearly enough. Piper watched helplessly as she crashed through the roof of the warehouse and disappeared.

“Reyna!” She screamed. There was no response.

“Get off man! I can’t breath!” Leo pushed her limb body out of the way enough that he could turn his head and see the hole in the roof. He paled. “Shit, man. Tell me she’s not…”

It was then that Piper looked up and realized what had happened. Leo and Piper were dangling a good thirty feet above ground, suspended by Reyna’s spear. She’d managed to save their lives by pinning them to the side of the building but there was no way she could’ve included herself in her plan.

“She sacrificed herself.” Piper began to sob. Now that her life wasn’t in peril, she realized it was snowing, the cold making her tears sting physically as well as emotionally. She started wriggling on the spear, desperately trying to get down. “We have to help her! We can’t let her die!”

“Piper calm down! You’re gonna break it!” Leo yelled, he grabbed her and forced her to look in his eye until her breathing evened out a bit “We’re still too high up. If we fall we could die or else get seriously hurt. We need a safe way down. Uh, can I get a rope? Maybe thirty feet long?”

He rooted around in his tool belt but nothing came out. Leo was muttering to himself, trying to figure out a rational solution but Piper was in too much shock to pay any attention to him or what he was saying or why he was talking to his tool belt. This was her fault. Which meant if Reyna wasn’t okay in there… she couldn’t even bring herself to imagine.

She gazed dully at the falling snow when she noticed a dark shape moving towards them through the storm.

“No way.” She gasped as Scipio appeared in front of them, looking irritated and impatient. He snorted at them as if they’d better have a good explanation for this.

People who have never tried to free themselves from a spear six inches deep in a cement wall while sitting on an increasingly impatient Pegasus might be surprised how difficult it is.

The second Leo and Piper were free, their winter coats damaged beyond repair, Scipio dove into the hole in the roof so fast Leo almost fell off. Inside they found Reyna sprawled across a metal catwalk that ringed the interior of the warehouse.

Scipio landed next to his master and rolled her over gently with his nose, making sad horse noises at the sight of her.

Piper felt nauseous just looking at her. Leo made a whimper that sounded like it belonged to a small child. Her arms were both broken, and her right shoulder and left foot were bent at bad angles. She was bleeding from the forehead. Her eyes were closed.

Piper checked her pulse with trembling fingers and was so relieved when she found one she started to cry again, which scared Leo and Scipio.

“She’s breathing. We need to get her to a hospital but she’s hanging on.”

Leo shook his head, he tried to speak twice before the words would come “We don’t have phones and we don’t know where we are. It’ll take too long for the ambulances to find us, we need to do something now.”

Scipio neighed and stomped his foot angrily and maybe Piper couldn’t speak horse but she was pretty sure he was trying to tell them they were idiots.

Leo snapped his fingers. “Wait, what was that godly healing stuff they fed you at camp—Rambo food?”

“Ambrosia, dummy,” Piper as she wiped away her tears and started rummaging through her bag.

They couldn’t force feed Reyna the ambrosia with her still unconscious but they did manage to dribble a few spoonfuls of Nectar into her mouth. Piper remembered that too much could kill a mortal so she didn’t want to risk using too much but Reyna’s injuries were so extensive she didn’t think they’d be able to heal them with nectar alone.

After Reyna had stabilized a bit, Scipio knelt down and nuzzled his master’s unconscious face before giving Piper and Leo one more indignant snort and taking off into the sky.

“Does he always do that?” Leo wondered aloud

“How should I know?” Piper said still stating at Reyna’s sleeping face

“Guess we’re crashing here tonight, huh?”

“That’s not funny.”

Leo shifted from foot to foot awkwardly “Yeah, uh… I’m gonna go… see what’s up with Festus.”

Piper realized with a hallow pang in her chest that, without the context of her dream, it probably looked like Festus had malfunctioned. After all the trouble Leo had gone through to fix him. Piper hoped the crash landing hadn’t damaged the thing. She couldn’t stand anyone else getting hurt like Reyna had.

“This is all my fault.” She choked out

Leo shook his head “You were asleep, Pipes. There’s no way this could’ve been your fault.”

“But I—”

“No!” Leo said with surprising force “Don’t do that to yourself. I’m going to try and help Festus. The sooner we can get out of here the better.”

“You shouldn‘t go by yourself.” Piper said, though her legs felt like lead and the idea of joining him seemed impossible.

“Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I‘ll be fine.” Leo said, a little too quickly, and Piper realized he was a lot more shaken up than he was letting on. “You guys just don‘t run off without me.”

Leo reached into his magic tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs, leaving Piper alone with an unconscious Reyna.

It didn’t take long for Piper to start crying again. She kept trying to think of things she could do but there wasn’t anything. She didn’t know first aid and didn’t trust herself to help with Reyna’s injuries without making them worse. She couldn’t call for help without a phone. She didn’t even have her coat anymore to keep her warm. She felt so useless it physically hurt.

She stared at the logo on the wall: monocle motors, the single red eye. Something about that logo bothered her. Maybe it was the idea Enceladus was watching her, holding her father for leverage. She had to save him, but how could she betray her friends?

Somewhere below, metal clanged against metal, like a door slamming shut. The sound echoed through the warehouse.

“Leo?” She called “Is that you?”

“It’s alright, you can come out.” A friendly voice called “My name’s Susan and I’m with Detroit social services. I know you must be scared and tired but everything’s going to be okay now. Come out and we’ll sort everything out.”

Piper’s stomach churned uneasily. Social services? What were they doing here? Beneath her, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the dark warehouse.

“We’re fine. You can go home now.” Piper called out, trying to put as much charm into her speech as she could through her words as she could. Though with how much she’d been crying she wasn’t sure how convincing it was.

A different, much gruffer and scary voice responded “I am home.” Though it sounded confused, like he thought maybe he should be leaving anyway.

The sound of a hand striking a head rang through the warehouse. And Piper was absolutely certain she was in danger. She pulled Katoptris. It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing.

At her feet, Reyna began to stir and groaned. Piper had to scramble to cover her mouth. Whatever was out there didn’t know Reyna was there. There was no way she’d eb able to fight in her state. She’d be a sitting duck. Piper didn’t like the idea of facing down a monster all alone.

Then a thought occurred to her and she grimly accepted she had no other option. She found an open crate and managed to stuff Reyna inside of it.

Thumping sounds began to echo as something large and heavy was climbing the stairs.

After a second of hesitation, she placed Katoptris in the crate with Reyna, leaving her completely unarmed. She didn’t like it but Reyna’s spear was still stuck in the wall outside and if she woke up, she’d need the protection more than Piper did.

The sounds continued and as Piper shut the crate with a rusty padlock and scampered out from her hiding place. In front of her was a huge cyclops with a smashed in nose and hideous black grin.

Piper’s heart pounded in her chest so hard she thought it would break free and run away without her. She raised her hands to the sky. Maybe she was a traitor and maybe this was all her fault and maybe she wasn’t much good in a fight. But if she could at least buy some time… Well, it wouldn’t make up for it but this was the least she could do for Reyna after she’d sacrificed herself for her. Leo was still out there. She’d just have to trust that he’d find a way to call for help.

“I surrender.” She told the monster


	10. Leo II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was probably the hardest one so far. This chapter is meant to be Leo's moment where he comes into his own and proves his importance to the team by saving them single handedly. So the more I changed things the more it felt like it was losing that important aspect. Ultimately, I don't think Leo reaches the same heights in this chapter as he does originally but I have plans to rectify that in future chapters.  
> Also, I changed how his talk with Gaea goes down because, honestly that dosen't make sense to me. Why is she reassuring Leo that he will be very important when it comes to defeating her? He WANTS to defeat her, that only serves to motivate him to continue trying to defeat her. Why are you giving your enemy a pep talk Gaea?

As soon as Leo made it outside, he punched the wall.

He couldn’t decide what had been worse. Seeing Reyna broken and unconscious or watching Piper cry her eyes out over it. His friends were hurt and there wasn’t a singe thing Leo could do about it. He didn’t do well with people, he didn’t know how to comfort them. All he knew was how to crack a lame joke and run away, which was exactly what he’d done tonight.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and trudged off to where Fesus had fallen on top of a row of porta-potties. Fortunately, they hadn‘t been used in a long time, and the fireball from the crash incinerated most of the contents; but still, there were some pretty gross chemicals leaking out of the wreckage. 

Leo inspected Festus’s body and found nothing was wrong with the machinery. The problem was that the control panel had somehow frozen over, even though it should’ve been to hot for ice to form. The control disk in particular had been damaged, what was especially bad because Leo had no idea how to fix it or build a new one.

Leo was sure he could repair the dragon enough to get them airborn again but now he hesitated. What if something went wrong and they fell out of the sky again? He was pretty sure nobody wanted a repeat of tonight.

He shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. He might not be any good to his friends but he could at least secure them a ride out of here. He summoned tools from his magic tool belt and got to work. As he worked, his mind wandered.

The image of Reyna’s sleeping face flashed before his eyes and he found himself blinking back tears. Why? Why would she go and sacrifice herself to keep him safe? He wasn’t anything worth protecting. He was a coward. An omen of bad things to come.

Fire is bad, Cal had told him, as he’d waited in the lobby for Reyna and Piper feeling like a total reject. That pretty much summed it up.

He knew it was wrong to keep the truth from his friends, especially when Reyna had asked him so directly. But one line from the Great Prophecy kept bothering him. To storm or fire the world must fall. Leo wasn’t sure who the storm guy was but he knew we was the fire guy. And clearly Reyna put a lot of stock in the wording of prophecies.

He thought about how Reyna had smiled when he’d volunteered for this quest. How she’d been ready to throw hands with the Boreads when they’d gotten in Leo’s face. Even how she’d covered for him with Chiron. It was enough to almost make Leo think Reyna actually wanted him around. But Leo couldn’t afford to think like that, it would only make things more painful. He’d been tossed around enough foster homes to know when he wasn’t wanted (Which was basically always) and things typically didn’t improve after a surprise sky-diving lesson.

Leo could see it now. The girls telling everyone at camp about how he’d sabotaged Festus. His siblings in Cabin 9 turning against him. It would be just like with his mom all over again. The idea made his hands shake so bad he had to stop working.

 _You see know._ A voice spoke to him

Leo fumbled his brush and dropped it into the dragon‘s head. He stood, but he couldn‘t see who‘d spoken. Then he looked at the ground. Snow and chemical sludge from the toilets, even the asphalt itself was shifting like it was turning to liquid. A ten-foot-wide area formed eyes, a nose, and a mouth—the giant face of a sleeping woman.

She didn‘t exactly speak. Her lips didn‘t move. But Leo could hear her voice in his head, as if the vibrations were coming through the ground, straight into his feet and resonating up his skeleton.

 _You see what happens when you oppose me, Leo?_ She said _My influence is not limited to the earth, there are many who serve me. Your friend Reyna refused the chance to join my ranks and you see what it got her._

“You.” Leo was shaking so badly he wasn‘t sure he‘d spoken aloud. He hadn‘t heard that voice since he was eight, but it was her: the earthen woman from the machine shop. “You killed my mom.”

The face shifted. The mouth formed a sleepy smile like it was having a pleasant dream. _Ah, but I am a mother too. Yet I’ve been kept from my children for millennia. Asleep. Tell me, Leo, what would you do if it meant seeing your mother again? The only family who ever truly loved you._

Anger surged through Leo’s body so hot and intense he didn’t even notice he was engulfed in fire until he snatched up the first thing he could find—a toilet seat—and flung it at her face.

“You lying motherfucker!” he screamed

The flaming toilet seat sank into the liquid earth. Snow and sludge rippled, and the face dissolved. Leo stared at the ground, waiting for the face to reappear. But it didn‘t.

Leo went back to work on Festus.

 _The only family who ever truly loved you._ the voice had taunted. Leo felt the anger inside him deflate and left him feeling hallow. He forces his pace to increase, so he wouldn’t be able to think.

Soon enough Leo came to the conclusion there was nothing else he could do for Festus. Wiping sweat off his brow he headed back to the warehouse to see how the girls were holding up. He doubted Reyna would be good enough shape to fly but—

Leo stopped. The door to the warehouse was open. He was sure he hadn’t left it open when he’d left. He might’ve been able to rationalize that away and head inside if not for the warm light and sound of laughter coming from inside.

Piper’s laughter.

Leo had heard Piper laugh a thousand times before. Usually at him. To the untrained ear, this might not raise any red flags but Leo knew Piper better than that. This was the laugh she used when she was trying to talk Mr. Cambell into cancelling that math test. Something was wrong in that warehouse.

Leo ducked inside and hugged the wall, careful to move quietly as Piper’s voice rang out “Oh Sump! You’re so funny!”

“Want stew, pretty girl?” A gruff, ugly voice answered “Extra eyeballs!”

“Oh I couldn’t possibly!”

Leo leaned around some boxes and caught sight of Piper sitting at a table much too large for her, joined by three cyclopes. One cyclops wore a chain mail loincloth that looked really uncomfortable. The other wore a ragged fuzzy toga made of fiberglass insulation, which also would not have made Leo‘s top ten wardrobe ideas. Other than that, the two monsters could‘ve been twins.

“Pretty girl pay too much attention to Sump.” Another cyclops pouted

“Oh Torque. Don’t be like that!” Piper chided with a forced smile that nonetheless fooled Torqe

The third cyclops sat at the head of the table. She was several feet taller than Torque or Sump, and even beefier. She wore a tent of chain mail cut like one of those sack dresses Leo‘s mean Aunt Rosa used to wear. What‘d they call that—a muumuu? Yeah, the Cyclops lady had a chain mail muumuu. Her greasy black hair was matted in pigtails, woven with copper wires and metal washers. Her nose and mouth were thick and smashed together, like she spent her free time ramming her face into walls; but her single red eye glittered with evil intelligence.

“Torque, quit sitting there like a useless lump.” She growled “Go check for that Leo she was calling for earlier!”

“I’ve told you there’s no need for that.” Piper said, placing a hand on Torque that kept him in his seat as he started to rise “Leo was just giving me a ride, honest. He was so nervous the whole way, I doubt he would even set foot in this warehouse knowing there are such fearsome monsters here. Really, Ma, you worry too much.”

“Don’t you call me Ma!” The female cyclops roared “Just because you say you want to marry one of my sons dosen’t mean I’ll let you!”

Leo had to clap his hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Then he took another look at Piper’s eyes and saw just how scared she was and felt bad. He understood now. Piper had been discovered in the cyclops’s lair and said the only thing she could think of to keep them from eating her. Either that or the cyclopes brothers were so stupid they assumed a pretty girl on their doorstep meant she wanted to marry them. Either way she was doing everything she could just to stay alive right now.

But where was Reyna? Had the monsters eaten her already? No. There was no way Piper would be going along with this plan if they’d just killed her friend. Reyna must be hiding somewhere, too injured to help. If anyone was going to help Piper out of this mess, it would have to be Leo. Just thinking that made his stomach fall out from under him.

“Of course, Ma Gasket. But I went to so much trouble to come here. Won’t you at least hear me out?” Piper said soothingly

Leo took another look around the room. There was a crane with a robotic arm, a truck chassis, and an assembly line. Hanging directly above the assembly line, suspended by a chain from a crane on the opposite side, was a massive truck engine—just dangling thirty feet up, as if it had been left there when the factory was abandoned.

Leo’s mind raced. He couldn’t do anything too obvious, because that would draw attention to him being there. At the moment that was the only advantage he had. He slipped off his backpack and started rooting around.

“Bah! I’m supposed to believe you came here to marry _my_ sons? I don’t see why I shouldn’t cook you for supper!”

“Is it so hard to believe a pretty girl actually wants to marry me? Stay out this, ma!” Torque sneered at his mother

“Yeah! Hey, who say you get to marry her?” Sump added

Meanwhile, Leo found what he wanted in the pack: a stack of tiny remote control units he‘d picked up in Bunker 9. At least he hoped that‘s what they were. The robotic crane‘s maintenance panel was easy to find. He slipped a screwdriver from his tool belt and went to work, but he had to go slowly. The leader Cyclops was only twenty feet in front of him. The monsters obviously had excellent senses. Pulling off his plan without making noise seemed impossible, but he didn‘t have much choice.

Ma Gasket’s eye shone with victory and Leo knew Piper was in trouble “Yes! Which of my sons will you marry, Venus spawn?”

Piper’s face tightened. No matter which one she said, the other one would be angry. The only things keeping Piper alive right now what that the cyclops brothers were too infatuated with her to listen to their mother.

“Oh, how could a girl possibly choose between such… impressive, strapping men?” Her voice wavered too much, Sump and Torque were looking at each other, starting to mull things over too much.

Leo gave his machine an unexpected test-run. He pointed it at the light switch and jammed a button. The warehouse was plunged into darkness.

“Who’s there! Show yourself!” Ma Gasket roared

“Think the power went out, Ma.” Torque said

“It’s that other demigod! I knew I smelled two!” Ma Gasket insisted “Extra-strength perfume, ha! Now go find them!”

One of the cyclops brothers stomped off, mumbling under his foul selling breath. Leo stayed so still he was afraid to breath but the monster seemed more interested in cursing about his bossy mom than actually doing what she asked. He circled the perimeter too quickly to notice Leo and stomped back to the others.

Meanwhile Ma Gasket had the other cyclops light a fire so they could see.

“You’re not going anywhere, tasty demigod.” She growled at Piper “One wrong move and I’ll barbeque you, I don’t care how well your pretty talk works on my boys.”

“Nothing there. Quit being paranoid, Ma. Let me marry the pretty girl.” Sump reported

Piper swallowed. She schooled her expression into something calm and reasonable, like she had no reason to be afraid. She straightened her spine and stuck out her chin and for moment she reminded Leo starkly of Reyna.

“Please, Ma, listen to me.” Piper said with renewed confidence in her voice “Give me a chance to prove what a good wife I’d be. Once I pass you can decide which son I marry. It’s a good deal isn’t it?”

Ma Gasket grunted “And if you lose?”

Piper raised an eyebrow innocently “Then I’ll leave. Heartbroken, of course.”

Ma Gasket laughed “Ha! I don’t think so, Venus spawn. If you lose I’ll eat you for my dinner. Understood?”

Piper grit her teeth “Deal.”

Ma Gasket grunted, ripped open one of the nearby crates, pulled out a jewelry chest sized box and chucked it carelessly in Piper’s direction. Piper caught it with a grunt and studied it’s intricately carved surface. Leo held back a gasp. He recognized what kind of box this was, because he used to play with one like it when he was a kid. It was called a puzzle box, like a rubix cube but way more complicated.

“Solve this in ten minutes. That’s a task any _decent_ cyclops should manage.” She glared at her sons and Leo knew they weren’t capable of it. Leo wasn’t surprised, these puzzles could take a genius like his mom all day to solve. “I’m going to go check outside for that other demigod. Want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.”

Ma Gasket stormed out of the warehouse and Piper stared at the puzzlebox, clearly having no idea how to go about solving it.

Leo took the chance to check his universal remote. No good. Shutting the lights off was more than it should’ve been able to handle and it’d short circuited. If he was going to take out the cyclopes, he’d need time to repair it.

Suddenly Piper chucked the puzzle box away in frustration and plopped down on the table sobbing. Leo would’ve felt sorry for her if the puzzle box hadn’t hit him in the head and he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out.

Torque and Sump took the bait and started patting Piper’s shoulders, telling her how Ma had been in a bad mood ever since the war ended. Leo wasn’t sure when Piper had realized he was there. He didn’t know if this was part of her plan, assuming there was a plan and Piper wasn’t just flying by the seat of her pants. (which Leo found the more likely scenario) But he had to commend her quick thinking.

Once he had the box in his hands it was almost funny how easy it was. It should’ve been too dark for him to even see the puzzle but he didn’t even need light to know what he was doing. It was like he could feel the gears and mechanisms moving around. He could sense the pins of the combination lock pulling back one by one.

He was so excited by his own success he almost didn’t notice the bobby trap.

His hands went still. As soon as the box was opened, it would unleash a torrent of gold (don’t ask how he knew they were gold) darts in the person’s face. That was why Ma Gasket was confident enough to leave Piper alone with Torque and Sump. If she tried to cheat, Ma would know immediately if she came back inside and nobody was injured. And if she somehow solved it, she’d be killed.

The door rumbled open again as Ma Gasket returned. Piper wiped her eyes and told Sump and Torque she’d better get the box and prepare for the worst. Leo wondered if Tristen had been giving her acting lessons, the girl definitely had a shot at the big screen.

Leo set down the box and ducked into the shadows. When Piper was close enough, she paused, pretending to be searching the darkness. Leo whispered instructions to her, but she gave no indication that she heard him as she picked up the puzzle box and headed back to where Ma Gasket was waiting.

Ma Gasket saw the box was still closed and sneered in triumph “So you couldn’t do it eh?”

Piper sniffled “I’m sorry. It’s just… I know whatever is in here must be very special to you. And you haven’t been able to see it in a very long time, right?”

The cyclopse brothers looked at each other confused.

“Hey, Ma, what’s in the box anyway?” Torque asked

“Enough stalling, demigod! Accept your fate!” Ma Gasket roared

Piper pressed on, as if she had no idea the cyclops wanted to eat her “It must be a family heirloom, right? Something very valuable? Why, I think I can smell gold in here.”

“Gold?” Sump snatched the box from her and gave it a sniff “She’s right! I smell gold!”

“I want gold! Give it!” Torque demanded and the brothers started grappling for the box.

While all this was going on, Leo was scrambling to repair his universal remote. It wasn’t enough though, he’d need more time.

Torque forced the box open and disintegrated into gold dust as the darts blasted into his face.

For a moment nobody said anything. The cyclops just stared at the pile of dust that had been their son and brother.

Sump pumped his fist “Yes! This means I get to marry pretty girl, right?”

“No!” Ma Gasket and Piper said at the same time

Piper realized her mistake and tried to back track “Ah, I mean… I still haven’t won your mother’s blessing and—”

“Enough!” Ma Gasket plucked up Piper easily and began to bring her to her open mouth.

Then suddenly she cried in pain as a wrench clattered to the floor at her feet. Leo was stunned. He turned and scanned the warehouse to see if Reyna had somehow recovered but she was nowhere in sight.

“You!” Ma Gasket roared at him, his location compromised

“Me.” Leo agreed

Ma Gasket charged for him, throwing Piper on the ground as she went. Leo’s remote wouldn’t work. He’d sacrificed his own plan to save Piper and help her look good, without any credit for himself. And now he had an angry Cyclops mama charging at him. There was no time to think of anything else. He had to use plan C.

He pointed one finger in the air and summoned all his will. He‘d never tried to do anything so focused and intense—but he shot a bolt of white-hot flames at the chain suspending the engine block above the Cyclops‘s head—aiming for the link that looked weaker than rest.

Ma Gasket was shocked into stopping, which was a very poor decision for her.

The chain snapped—that single link heated beyond its tolerance point—and the engine block fell, deadly and silent.

“Bye.” Leo said.

Ma Gasket didn‘t even have time to look up.

Smash! No more Cyclops—just a pile of dust under a five-ton engine block.

Sump cheered in delight again “Yay! No more Torque and no more ma!” He grabbed at Piper “Come! Your friend will be spicy wedding feast!”

But Piper was done playing that game. She scooped up a handful of golden darts and raked them across Sump’s chest. He exploded like a balloon full of sand.

Leo wanted to run forward and congratulate her but instead he found himself crumpling to his knees, his head buzzing. Piper raced forward and helped him shakily to his feet. She was looking at him like… Well like he’d just burst into flames.

“Leo…You…” Then she hugged him so tight he thought she’d break a rib “You saved my life. You were incredible.”

He looked away “Where’s Reyna?”

“Yes, I’d like to know that as well.” A new, startlingly familiar voice asked

Leo turned his head towards the door and saw what he could’ve sworn was Reyna herself flying in on Scipio. Except she was dressed in a black jumpsuit and looked a few years older. She dismounted the Pegasus and marched towards them, her eyes sizing them up in an instant and her frown told Leo she wasn’t impressed.

“Ma Gasket.” She said to the golden dust on the floor with distaste “Should’ve figured you’d still be kicking around this dump like the rat you are. Couldn’t afford anything better I suppose. Bankruptcy’s a bitch but, then again, so are you.”

He looked to Piper but she looked as confused as he was.

“Um, who are you?” She asked

The woman had the same straight spine, high chin, and most of all the same intense black eyes as Reyna. They flicked over Leo and acknowledged only Piper.

“I am Hylla Ramirez-Arellano. Queen of the Amazons and Reyna’s older sister.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I wanted there to be a second trial involving Piper having to sort burning hot coals and including a gag that, since Leo is the one technically doing the trials, that he would make a very good cyclops wife. But I couldn't think of a decent reason why Ma Gasket would go along with a second trial after the first cost her a son so... I also had ideas for looney tunes esque gags as Piper convinces the boys to stand under a wreaking ball only for Leo to drop it on them or possibly having Piper demand Torque and Sump fight for her hand. Basically there were a lot of ways this chapter could've shaken out.  
> Ultimately I think having Leo being unable to pursue his own plan becuase he's busy trying to make Piper look good and letting her take credit for his accomplishments is a decent plot point in Leo's character development and as I said before I do have further plans for him receiving the validation he deserves and needs.  
> Next chapter will probably take a while a that will be entirely original content with lots of revelations for Reyna's character! Hope you enjoy it!


	11. Reyna V (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this new chapter is looking really long. Possibly twice as long as my usual chapters and those are combining multiple chapters from the book. So, just this once, I'm going to break my own rule and break up Reyna's perspective bloc into multiple chapters.

Reyna walked through endless fog.

She knew she had blacked out from pain and she could still feel it dully throughout her body as she wandered aimlessly. She could hear the sound of Piper’s crying echoing from somewhere above in this endless fog.

The sound pained Reyna, and she tried to stir herself back to consciousness. But then the cries stopped suddenly and there were no more sounds from above.

Reyna wondered if her friends had left her behind. Leo at least would have more sense than trying to carry her broken body across the country.

“They go to all the trouble of making me leader, and the first thing I do is render that inert.” She muttered to herself “Oh well, better than if they’d died.”

Even as she said it though, her heart raced. She strained her ears and heard Piper laughing. Reyna’s internal organs plummeted about a hundred feet. Her eyes stung.

“No.” She said weakly, wiping tears out of here eyes “Stop it. Let me out. I can still help.”

Out of the fog, a figure appeared. A girl, perhaps thirteen years old, with beautiful blond curls that did not match her stormy gray eyes and guarded expression. She wore an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, shorts, and a necklace, like Reyna had seen other kids at camp wearing, but with more beads than anyone else and a college ring added to the strand.

“What’s your name?” Reyna asked. She felt very calm suddenly. As if nothing were wrong.

The girl hesitated, then said “Annabeth.”

 _Percy’s girlfriend_ a voice in her mind said, but it felt so distant it was barely there.

“That’s a nice name. I’m Reyna. Welcome to CiCi’s Spa and Resort.”

Sure enough when she turned, she found herself looking at a beautiful island paradise. Ocean waves curled on a white beach. Women lounged on pool chairs, getting manicures and sipping smoothies.

Reyna felt a hand on her shoulder and a voice, much like hers but with a stronger Puerto Rican accent said “Reyna is my own sister. She’ll take good care of you.”

 _I have a sister?_ The voice in Reyna’s head pipped up. But Reyna only smiled and nodded with pride and led Annabeth away.

She led Annabeth to a room that looked like a beauty salon. She found a white dress for Annabeth to change into in the closet and directed her behind a privacy screen. Annabeth looked lovely when she came out again, but even more tense. Perhaps she sensed, like the part of Reyna’s mind that kept protesting this, that they didn’t have time to waste on stupid things like this.

Nevertheless, Reyna directed Annabeth to one of the chairs and began working on her hair.

“You seem tense.” Reyna said “Is everything okay? I’m not pulling too hard am I?”

 _Ask her where she is! Maybe we can rescue her!_ The dull voice in Reyna’s head suggested and Reyna wanted to speak up, but her voice wouldn’t cooperate

“Oh, no. I just…” She hesitated again. She studied Reyna in the mirror and then made a decision “My friend’s brother died yesterday.”

“Oh that’s awful!”

Annabeth nodded, her eyes a million miles away “Truth be told, I was never very nice to him. He was just a little kid, who followed his brother around everywhere. But he was big and smelly and…”

Reyna took her hand “Hey. I know it’s hard now but things will get better. That must be why you’re here. CiCi’s magic seeks out souls in need of respite. You can stay here, perfectly safe, as long as you want. Everyone who comes here leaves better than they arrived.”

Annabeth searched her eyes, she was still suspicious but she managed a smile and Reyna felt comfortable in the knowledge everything would work itself out.

Then the scene changed. She was outside. Not much time had passed at all since she’d attended to Annabeth but the island that had once been a paradise was now in shambles. Ruffians in pirate clothes were tearing up the place as the women at the resort were screaming in terror. Reyna looked on, frozen in fear. This was her home. They were destroying her home!

Annabeth came running down the road, the nice dress and fancy hairdo Reyna had given her were ripped and coming apart. She was running for her life, and she wasn’t alone this time. Just behind her was a boy, who Reyna recognized with a start as Percy Jackson. He was younger than when Reyna had met him at the Grand Canyon, his black hair missing that distinctive gray streak, but there was no mistake.

Somehow, she knew they had caused this. They had unleased the pirates who were destroying her sanctuary.

As Reyna watched, Percy stumbled and tripped. Annabeth doubled back and grabbed his hand. “Come on, Seaweed Brain!”

She pulled him along and the two disappeared without another look back. Reyna felt an icy hand close around her heart as she watched the carnage continue.

_They did this. They destroyed my home and they couldn’t even be bothered to care!_

The landscape dissolved back into fog but smaller, cloudier visions continued to pop up and disappear randomly.

An ugly man with a big, black beard raising his sword as if to strike Reyna.

A giant sea monster bearing it’s fangs.

A boy with short blond hair rising into the sky as he screamed, and lighting crackled up and down his body.

A teenage girl, who looked so much like Reyna you would’ve mistaken them for twins, pounding on the door of her bedroom, begging her father to let her out.

The same girl, screaming as a chair was thrown at her.

Reyna couldn’t take it anymore. She screamed.

The fog around her dissipated.

“Good.” A female voice spoke out from somewhere above her. It wasn’t Piper and Reyna couldn’t place it, but the voice was familiar to her. “You almost understand.”

A new scene arose from the fog.

A young man was on his knees in a stone room, sobbing. The man was bearded, with long brown hair and wild eyes. Reyna realized with a start he was one of the boys she had seen fighting in front of the wolfs in her last dream, only grown and with some attempt to groom himself. She also noticed, now that she could see his face clearly without the dirt and hair obscuring it, his features bore an uncanny resemblance to Clarisse.

He was bent over the form of another young man, identical to the first in every way. Except that his neck was bent at an unnatural angle that made Reyna queasy looking at it.

A pillar of fire erupted in the chamber and the man fell backwards onto his butt. His expression filled with fear as the large, muscular man Reyna had seen in her last dream stepped out. But there was no anger in his face, only sadness.

“Father.” The young man sobbed “I don’t understand. It was just a stupid argument. We’ve fought enemies a thousand times worse. I… I…”

“Quiet, Romulus.” The man said, not unkindly, as he knelt before his son and closed his eyes “This was not your fault. You are sons of Ares, fighting is in your blood. And raised by Lupa… she was right. You should have been raised among humans. The longer you stayed with those wolfs the harder it was to restrain yourself.”

“But… But we’ve fought every day of our lives! I’ve never… How could I have…?”

“You overpowered him. It was inevitable, I suppose. Eventually one of you had to win, and when you fight as fiercely as the two of you…” He spread his hands, helpless to change what had been done

“He’s really gone then?” Romulus said in a small voice that did not suit him. He shook his brother as if was only sleeping “Remus. Remus!”

Ares stood, his face full of sorrow at the pitiful sight. Reyna thought of the proud, arrogant man she’d seen before and it didn’t seem possible that he could appear so heartbroken. “I will take responsibility for this. It was my nature and my decisions that led to his death.” He turned and gazed out the window at the rolling hills outside “The fates tell me that this land you and your brother conquered will be the start of a new era for mankind. An empire that will shape the world for millennia to come. And so it shall be a new era for the gods as well.”

“What do you mean, father?” Romulus asked, incapable of taking his eyes off of Remus’s body. Perhaps because it looked so much like his own.

Ares began to scream. The stone windowsill he was holding shattered under his grip. Dust rained from their ceiling as the castle itself began to shake. The air around Ares shimmered and glowed. A silhouette began to take shape in the air.

“Look away!” He ordered his son as his own body began to glow and Reyna herself had to shield her eyes as the god unleashed his true, divine, form.

When the light faded and Reyna dared look back, Ares was not there anymore. In his place stood a man, bent over and panting, who resembled him very much but was decidedly not. His eyes were the same burning pits of fire. But his features were more pointed and regal, his face less broad and flat. His hair was shorter.

But it was the woman in the room, who had not been there before, that really caught Reyna’s attention. Her hair was long and black. Her eyes pits of fire, like Ares (And like the man who had replaced him) but they burned hotter with blue flames instead of orange. She was covered in tattoos that showed scenes of violence and bloodshed. A massive battle, except the images moved and changed as Reyna watched them, so she couldn’t tell who was winning.

And her face…

“Mother.” She gasped. It was not a question.

The scene in front of her froze, as if someone had hit the pause button.

“Yes, well, that’s enough of that.” The voice from before sounded from above, speaking a bit quickly as if embarrassed “Come on, let’s have a chat.”

Suddenly Reyna wasn’t in the chamber. She was sitting in a stadium. Below, monster trucks were driving around in circles, jumping over pits of fire, and crushing small cars under their wheels.

Next to her, a woman belched. She wore ripped jeans and combat boots and a jean vest that might’ve once been a jacket but had it’s sleeves ripped off, revealing her ever-changing tattoos. She sat with her feet up on the chair in front of her, a plate of nachos balanced on her knee. A motorcycle helmet was tossed in the seat next to hear, probably because she didn’t want it to crush her pompadour hairstyle. Her eyes were pits of blue flame.

The war goddess smiled “It’s about time you made it to one of my shows. The most receptive you’ve been to me in years and it’s when Juno places you beyond my reach. Figures. Nacho?”

Reyna opened and closed her mouth like a fish. So many thoughts crossed her mind at once she felt like she’d short-circuited. All she’d been able to think about since leaving Boreas’s palace was how her mother was some rampaging, bloodthirsty psycho. If that was what she called receptive, she couldn’t imagine what things had been like before she’d lost her memory.

Somehow, the one that escaped her was “I’m not actually here am I? Would it do any good to eat here?”

Bellona tilted her head to the side “Good question.”

“Didn’t Jupiter order Olympus closed? Is this allowed?”

Bellona’s laugh was a loud barking sound as she threw her head back “Let him try. I am the goddess of war, kiddo. I’m not easily controlled.”

“But… Isn’t war about discipline and respect for authority? Military strength? Honor?”

The goddess snorted and roasted a jalepeno with the fire that made up her eyes (Which Reyna thought couldn’t be very hygienic) “Your thinking of my stick in the mud brother, Mars. Trust me, I’m way more fun.”

As if to prove her point, she made a finger gun and aimed it at the arena floor. Down below, one of the monster trucks exploded. Bellona whooped.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Vulcan makes more things than he knows what to do with. And they don’t always turn out good. There’s entire junkyards in this country filled with his rejects. But some he gives to me to destroy in especially spectacular fashion.”

Reyna looked away from her mother. What had once been an enormous, powerful truck was now nothing but scrap metal and burning rubber.

“You think it is better to create and fix things than to destroy them. Like your friend Leo does.” Bellona said simply.

Reyna could not meet her mother’s eyes… or fire pits. Whatever.

“S’okay. Happens to the best of us. But, you see, by destroying one thing you allow for the creation of something new. Something better, if your lucky.”

Reyna studied a piece of burning rubber intensely “Perhaps. But the means through which we accomplish that… it’s so violent and final. So… angry.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Bellona demanded, nudging her daughter in the ribs with her foot “Anger is like pain in a lot of ways, it tells you when something’s wrong. You’ve heard the saying _Well behaved women rarely make history_ yeah? Well the same’s true of all people. The world doesn’t change unless you are angry enough to demand it do so! And so conquest and destruction are two sides of the came coin, you see. Why, if you'd never gotten angry, you'd still be trapped in that room in San Juan!”

Reyna’s mouth went dry at that last bit, though she wasn't sure why. She heard sounds of arguing somewhere outside this dream. A voice that sounded like Leo's cried out in pain. She stood, instinctively, before she realized she had no way of helping. And that stung Reyna to the core.

"I know. It's not easy when your not in control of your life." Her mother said, as if a powerful goddess knew anything about that "But that's exactly why you must stop resisting your talents. Harness your anger! Change your fate!"

“Well change isn’t always a good thing! Gaea seeks to change the world through destruction. Would you praise that?” She snapped, loud and in the goddess’s face.

For a second, her mother looked surprised. Then she threw her head back and laughed again “This kid! I swear I never had this much trouble with your sister. You rebel against rebellion and thus fight for order and stability. Amazing. See, this is why mortals are so much fun!”

“I am not some amusement!” Reyna protested

“No.” Bellona agreed “You are my daughter. And no matter where you go, or what you do, that will never change.”

She probably meant for it to sound reassuring. But to Reyna it sounded like a threat. _No matter what you do, you’ll never escape me._

“Now go. Change the world. And tell your sister I said hello.”

She flicked Reyna on the forehead and with that the stadium faded and Reyna woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bellona: I want to change the world.  
> Reyna: For the better?  
> Bellona:   
> Reyna: Answer me.


	12. Reyna V (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter is just Hylla going "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just wanna go ape shit?"

Reyna’s eyelids felt like lead. Her body ached all over. Her mouth was still dry and uncomfortable.

She was vaguely aware that she was in a plush bed, and not the cold metal catwalk she’d passed out on, but her brain couldn’t be bothered to register more than that. She felt as if she’d slept for a hundred years and it wasn’t nearly enough.

She might’ve gone back to sleep, but the second she turned over a familiar voice called her name.

You wouldn’t peg Piper as strong but her bear hugs said otherwise. That definitely knocked the drowsy out of her. Reyna felt her body stiffen as she automatically pulled away, even as she wanted to kick herself for it. Her friend was happy she was safe. Physical affection was natural and a good thing in situations like this. So why was she so uncomfortable with something as simple as a hug?

If Piper noticed her reluctance, she didn’t show it. The early morning light drifting in from the window didn’t do her any favors. Her hair was a bird’s nest, her clothes her dirty and wrinkled, and her kaleidoscope eyes were sunken and bloodshot. It was the first time Reyna wouldn’t have described her as beautiful, which was saying a lot.

“Reyna… you…”

“I know. I noticed.” Reyna assured her. Then she looked down at her arms and realized, while they were still wrapped in bandages, they felt perfectly fine. She was sure they’d broken on impact. Her ankle and other injuries were much the same way. A cold stone settled in her stomach. “Where are we? How long was I out?”

“About twelve hours.” A new voice answered. Reyna turned and saw a woman who looked so much like Reyna she could have only been her sister emerging from the bathroom. She wore a black jumpsuit and a gold chain-link belt around her hips. She smiled at Reyna with amusement in her eyes and a cold stone settled in Reyna’s stomach.

“Hylla called in some favors.” Piper told her “There were a lot of powerful healers working on you.”

Hylla shrugged “Well, being Queen does have some perks, after all.” She smiled at Reyna like this was a joke they’d shared before. She crossed around the Queen-sized bed but kept her distance from her sister. “Be careful not to break anything else for a while or it’ll take twice as long to heal, no matter what magic you have.”

“You’re a Queen?” Reyna asked dumbly

“Mmmm, your… friends told me about your predicament. You don’t remember anything beyond waking up on a school bus, two days ago then?” Her tone was concerned and polite enough but something about her made Reyna uneasy. She said “friends” like it wasn’t the word she wanted to use to describe them but did so only because Piper was there. And there was still that amused glint in her eye.

“You were lucky I was in the area, chiquita. Our main offices are in Seattle but I happened to be out on business, checking in on some new competition, when Scipio arrived.”

“Competition?” Piper asked, her tone was polite but her body language was uneasy and tense

“Oh, some new department store selling magic items at ludicrous prices. Nothing the Amazons have to worry about but it’s good to scope these things out personally from time to time.” Hylla explained

“Amazons?” Reyna echoed, she locked eyes with Piper and understood why she seemed concerned “Where’s Leo?”

“Making breakfast, I think.” Hylla’s smile was sly and playful. She stood and waved Reyna off before she could ask anything else “I have errands to run. Help yourself to anything in my closet but keep out of my makeup. You always make such a mess, cielo.” She slammed the door behind her

“Your sister is, um…” Piper trailed off

“It dosen’t matter. We can’t stay here anyway. Where are we? We only have three days now.”

“We’re in Chicago. But, Reyna, you should’ve seen how mad she was when she found out you were hurt. I think she blames me and Leo. I don’t know how easy it’ll be getting out of here.”

Reyna clenched her fists in the bedsheets. Piper wouldn’t meet her eye and Reyna realized Piper did feel guilty about what had happened. But that didn’t make any sense, she was asleep when they went down. She didn’t remember her sister very well but she definitely didn’t like the idea of her blaming her friends for things they had no control over.

“Well, first off, that’s Pegasus shit.” She said firmly

“Reyna—”

“And second, we won’t know until we try. Now what’s going on with Leo? I seem to recall Amazons aren’t too fond of men.”

Piper only looked guiltier “It was pretty touch and go for a while. I managed to talk her into making some exceptions but she still wouldn’t let him near her room.”

“This is Hylla’s room?” Looking around it again, Reyna noticed the work out equipment in the corner, the piles of mess on the coffee table, and the enormous lesbian ride flag over the bed “Yeah this is Hylla’s room. Go keep an eye on Leo while I get ready. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Piper seemed hesitant to leave but eventually she nodded and left.

Reyna waited until her friend was gone before she tried standing up. As she expected, her vision immediately went spotty, her head light, and she had to brace herself against the bedstand to keep from falling over. Whatever Hylla’s healers had done, it must’ve sapped her stamina. She couldn’t let her friends find out what kind of shape she was in. At best it would be embarrassing, at worst they’d try and get her to stay behind.

Her old clothes were laid out for her, freshly washed and pressed. In addition to her Orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, there was another shirt laid out. A purple one, like what she’d when she’d woken up on the school bus.

Reyna wasn’t sure why she felt so strongly about the shirt. There was nothing really that special about it but when she held it in her hands she couldn’t deny it was important to her.

“If she’s my sister, she knows what this means to me. Even if I don’t.” Reyna muttered to herself.

Then she realized that was the point. Hylla wanted her to make a choice.

Reyna’s eyes flickered to the wardrobe. She thought of scavenging something out of there. Maybe something warmer, better suited for winter adventures. Then she wrinkled her nose at the idea. Somehow the idea of running around looking like a mini-Hylla wasn’t very appealing to her.

She considered the two shirts.

 _Piper and Leo are out there in orange shirts._ She thought. And that was what decided it. She wouldn’t let her sister divide her from her friends. She put down the purple shirt reluctantly and got dressed.

She still wasn’t sure what a lot of her dream had meant. Maybe all the healing had allowed her to recover small memories, but if there was a pattern to what she’d recalled she couldn’t find one.

Reyna realized that her whistle wasn’t around her neck anymore, which sent a cold shiver down her spine. Beyond her own attachment to the horse, being without him meant they’d be on their own for an escape route. Additionally, there was now a ring on her finger that wasn’t there before. Silver, with a crossed torch and sword like on her tattoo, the symbol of Bellona.

She wasn’t sure what her mother had meant by “ _stop resisting your talents.”_ But the way she had talked about anger and destruction made Reyna think if it was something Bellona wanted her to use, it definitely wasn’t anything good.

She found Leo and Piper in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones that silenced as soon as they heard Reyna approach.

Leo looked even worse for wear than Piper and was sporting a black eye but he was in one piece and safe enough pocking at pancakes on the griddle. When he saw her, his face broke out in a grin that looked a bit deranged on his injured face. He also gave Reyna a hug that somehow made her even more uncomfortable than when Piper had. It was so stupid she wanted to scream.

“Are you okay?” She asked, looking wearily at the bruise on his eye

“I’ve been better. But I’m hanging in there.” Leo admitted

“We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I’ll call Scipio and—” she remembered she didn’t have her whistle anymore and cursed.

“Actually,” Piper spoke up “We were thinking… maybe we don’t have to leave just yet.”

Reyna tensed “But I thought—”

“Just listen.” Leo interrupted “She’s your sister.”

“Which I didn’t even know I had until about fifteen minutes ago.” Reyna protested

“She’s still probably your best bet at learning about your life.” Piper pressed

“More to the point, if she’s your sister she probably knows where the Wolf House is. We could side-step Aeolus entirely and get there with time to spare.” Leo finished

Reyna studied her friends closely. They were tired and weary and on edge from their night with the Amazon Queen, but they had a determined look in their eye. They’d figured this out while Reyna was asleep, they’d weighed the risks and decided this was the best outcome.

“You’re really willing to go through with this? Fine. I won’t protest. But I don’t trust this situation. The way she was looking at me in there… it’s like she’s glad I lost my memories.”

Her friends exchanged a look “We’ll handle it.” Piper promised

“For now, just eat your breakfast. It’s getting cold.” Leo gestured to the table, loaded with plates piled high with pancakes, eggs, and sausage and Reyna’s mouth watered too much for her to continue arguing.

“I didn’t know you could cook, Leo.” She managed between bites

The boy shrugged “Eh, I’ve lived in enough foster homes to know you can’t always trust other people to feed you. I’m not too bad at housework. Didn’t really seem relevant until now.”

“Yes, apparently he’d make a perfect little cyclops wife.” Piper teased

“Shut up! That was your stupid idea!” Leo said, his face going red

“What?” The look on Reyna’s face must’ve been pretty good going by her friends snickers

They gave her a short summary of what’d happened at the warehouse and with the Amazons up until then, though Reyna still got the sense they were hiding some of the details from her. By the time they were done she’d put away a pan bakery worth of cakes. She felt a lot better with a full belly. Coffee also helped chase the drowsiness out of her.

“I managed to talk her out of arresting Leo, but she said he still has to keep out of sight and do chores and stuff.” Piper explained

“Yes, he does.” Hylla’s voice chided from behind Reyna, making everyone at the table jump. She sent Leo a look and he scrambled out of his seat so fast it fell over. “You stay.” She said, her eyes flicked over to Piper “The living room’s a mess, go clean it.”

Reyna didn’t like seeing her friends be bossed around, but they met her eyes and silently warned her to stay calm, so she grit her teeth.

Her sister’s eyes flicked over her casually and a smirk curled at her lips “So that’s what you’re going with, huh?”

Reyna studied her sister. They looked so much alike it was uncanny. Yet she radiated a cool sort of confidence that came when knowing you held all the cards. She looked nothing like the sobbing teen Reyna had seen in her dream.

“Mother says hello by the way.”

Hylla did a good job hiding her surprise but Reyna could tell she’d hit a nerve. That gave her a bit of satisfaction. “You talked to Mama?”

Reyna nodded “In my dream. She seemed to be having fun blowing up monster trucks.”

“Ah, yes. Did she… Did she say anything else to you?”

Reyna wasn’t sure how much about her dream she wanted to share, so she just shrugged “Nothing important.”

Hylla studied her closely and Reyna knew she could tell she was holding back.

“I have questions.” Reyna said

“I’d expect so. Go right ahead.” Hylla said, as she sipped her coffee and made a face.

“This is cold.” She complained to Leo “Heat it up.”

“Uh, sure. No problem.” Leo looked nervous as he took the mug from Hylla but the Amazon Queen didn’t pay him any attention.

“Why dosen’t Bellona have a cabin at camp?”

“Oh that’s easy. Camp Half-Blood is meant for the children of Greek gods and our mother is Roman. She didn’t exist in Greek times. There’s no place for her children at that camp.”

Reyna bit her cheek, that all made sense to her and yet it didn’t at all “Then what happens to the children of Roman gods?”

“They go to a different camp, of course. Neither side is meant to know the other exists. When Greek and Roman demigods meet it tends to get real murder-y real quick. Old rivalries die hard, you know? The last time… the Civil War I think. Juno must be in quite a pinch if she’s revealing this to your friends at camp. They didn’t even risk it when the Titans were rising last summer. No wonder Jupiter’s closed Olympus, the gods must terrified your presence will spark a war.”

Reyna remembered what Aquilion had said to Khione before they left his palace _“Don’t you see? There is no need to destroy them. If history is any indicator, they will tear each other apart on their own.”_ So that was what he meant. Not to mention if being in the presence of two demigods from different lineages causes the gods to become torn between their Greek and roman forms like Boreas/Aquilon was, it made sense they’d want to keep them divided. Maybe that was why Jupiter had closed Olympus.

Thinking about it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She thought about Clarisse and Chris back at Camp Half-Blood who had given her advice and helped prepare her for her quest. How the campers had gotten that agitated look when the topic turned to war, haunted by memories of battles only a few months ago. Even Percy Jackson, who had destroyed her home so long ago was now running himself ragged searching for his girlfriend. She didn’t want them to get hurt, yet she was being told she might trigger a war and bring misery and bloodshed into so many innocent lives. How fitting for a daughter of the goddess of destruction.

“How do you know all this?” She asked her sister

Hylla shrugged “Amazons are an independent party. Our roots are in Greece but we’ve since adopted a much more Roman approach to our goals. We don’t really get along with either camp. Or, well, anything run by males for that matter. The greeks are unruly dimwits, as you’ve no doubt realized traveling with those two.” She sent a dirty look in Leo’s direction. Reyna suspected she would’ve kept talking but then Reyna saw something that made her gasp in alarm.

“Leo your hand!” she cried. She rushed from her seat, yanked it from it’s resting spot on the red-hot stove, and shoved it under the faucet “Piper get in here! Hylla do you have any—” Her voice fell away. Leo’s hand wasn’t burned.

“I was going to tell you.” Her friend wouldn’t meet her eyes

“I asked!” Reyna countered “You knew about this when Zethes and Cal were asking didn’t you?”

Leo studied his unscathed hand closely. Small tongues of flame appeared between his fingers. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Piper came back into the room and, seeing Leo’s hand alight, must’ve put two and two together. “Reyna, listen—”

“You knew about this too! You both kept this from me!” Reyna snapped “What? You didn’t think it was worth mentioning you can summon fire at will? You chose me as your leader. Well how am I supposed to lead if you don’t trust me with even the basics? Do you have any idea how useful that is?”

“Useful?” Leo sounded offended but before he could say anything else, Hylla interrupted

“Honestly, chiquita, with the company you’re keeping these days what did you expect?” She said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair, the only one at ease in the room “Liars and runaways, thieves and rejects. Did you think they’d be honest with you? Did you think they’d trust you? Why, you’ve only risked your life to save theirs.”

Reyna felt anger surge through her, but she wasn’t sure who it was directed at. She knew Hylla was egging her on, she wanted her to snap at her friends but she couldn’t deny she had a point.

“Why the pretty one there’s a master manipulator in the making. I wouldn’t be surprised if—”

“Shut up!” Reyna roared.

But just Hylla smiled and shrugged

“Whatever you say. If your interested in a new weapon, come with me. I’m afraid your old one was severely damaged after supporting your companions.” She got up and left the apartment without bothering to check if Reyna was behind her

“Reyna—” Piper tried but Reyna stormed off before she could say anything else.

Outside turned out to sill be inside. Fluorescent tubes shone overhead, casting harsh light on a warehouse that stretched as far as the eye could see. Men in orange jumpsuits darted around industrial shelves filled with exploding arrows, stuffed monster heads, and limited edition Mercury lunchboxes. A few women in pantsuits patrolled on catwalks above, spears at the ready. A forklift passed by with a crate that had a familiar smile logo printed on it.

“Amazon.” Reyna said aloud “Oh duh.”

Hylla grinned with pride as she led Reyna along “One of our smaller outposts.”

“Why are men working the place? Are they prisoners?”

Hylla roller her eyes “Oh, honestly, we get such a bad rap. Man haters, that’s what people think we are, but it’s not true. Have you heard of the Hunters of Artemis? Now _they_ are man haters. Their solution to the man problem is to cut them out entirely from lives, isolate themselves. Amazons prefer a more proactive approach. We show the world a better way. So, no, the men are not prisoners. You’d be surprised what some men agree to given the right… incentive.” Hylla said with a smile that told Reyna she really didn’t want to know. Something about her words sounded familiar though, they reminded her of what Bellona had said in her dream about destroying the old world to make something new.

When Reyna didn’t say anything, her sister continues talking “See, this is what you’d never learn at that stupid camp of yours. They Romans are so stuck in their ways they refuse to progress. We Amazons on the other hand, much more proactive. At the turn of the century we founded our company and we now control much of the global trade market. Soon the world will be entirely dependent on us for their goods and supplies. Then we will launch our revolution.”

“To tear down the patriarchy?” Reyna guessed

Hylla’s eyes lit up “Exactly! Soon women will run the world! And we will—”

“Yeah gonna stop you there, sis. Just to be clear, your plan is not to tear down the systemic infrastructures which keep women in a lesser status but only to reverse who on top of those systems?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re going to accomplish this through a combination of capitalism and unethical working standards?”

“Yes?”

“And you wear black leather jumpsuits?”

“You have a point?”

“My point is my sister’s a super villain.”

Hylla smiled at her with that amused glint still in her eyes from before “You know, I think you’ve told me that before. Ah, here we are.”

From the wall she pulled a rack of golden weapons—swords, spears, whips, glocks, you name it. She told Reyna to choose whatever she wanted and told a nearby Amazon to collect Leo and Piper from her apartment.

“Once you’re all stocked up, I’ll have your friends meet us at Scipio’s stable and you can be on your way.” Hylla said “That is, if you still want to go.”

Reyna tensed, the cold stone in her stomach weighing again inside her “The Wolf House. Can you guide us to it?” she said

“No. I declined that path when Grace offered it to us and so the way is lost to me. You, however… Well, I never really approved of your decision to go to that stupid camp. You seemed to think it would give you a healthy outlet. Amongst _other_ motivating factors.” She said “other” in a way that made Reyna’s face grow hot, even if she didn’t know why “But they gave you anything but. You’re more afraid of your true power every time I see you.”

“True power?” Reyna echoed. Her body went tense. She didn’t know what her sister was talking about but her body apparently recognized the danger.

Her sister’s smile sent a shiver down Reyna’s spine “You don’t even remember do you? The power that made our mother revered throughout the Roman Empire. Which saved us from imprisonment and torture via waterskiing—Don’t laugh!—so many times throughout our lives. And you can’t even call upon it now. Are you that much of a coward?”

Reyna felt a familiar rush of anger in her ears but she pushed it down. Hylla was trying to get a rise out of her, that was obvious, she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

She picked up her new golden swords with white knuckles and said “Thank you for your hospitality, sister, but if you’re not able to help my friends and I in our quest, we must be on our way.”

Hylla frowned, the amused glint had faded from her eyes but she nodded and led her deeper inside the warehouse. They came to an indoor stable inhabited by unicorns, pagasi, and stranger horse-like beasts. Leo and Piper were waiting nervously flanked by a couple Amazons.

“I’ll see about getting you some reinforcements. Those two have the fighting prowess of a wet-sponge. It’s not fair that you should have to protect them all alone. Grace hates Juno’s guts but perhaps for you…” Hylla muttered while they were still a ways off.

Reyna stopped and stared at her feet. The offer was kind enough but Reyna saw it for the back-hand it was. Hylla was trying to goad her again, saying her friends were weak and she was unable to protect them. And there was that name again, Grace. Reyna didn’t know who that was but apparently they were a big deal, and had been close enough to Reyna to consider helping someone they hated for her sake. It was a test: defend your new friends and lose your chance at your old ones.

She didn’t know why her sister was acting like this. On the surface she was kind and considerate to her but in actuality she hadn’t missed an opportunity yet to antagonize her. She felt the anger swelling in her.

Then she looked at her friends. They were so close to leaving this place. They hadn’t gotten what they wanted but that was okay, they still had a plan and they could still make this work. Plus, whatever information Hylla could offer her about her past, Reyna wasn’t sure she wanted to know anymore.

“Something the matter?” Hylla asked her

Reyna took a deep breath and forced her emotions aside. “No, nothing.” She said and tried to walk forward but she found herself grabbed from behind.

The Amazon Queen’s face was full of irritation “You’re still doing it.” She said in disbelief

“What?”

“That thing where you pretend your not pissed. Why?”

So many possible responses ran through Reyna’s head it was impossible to choose just one. From the obvious “There’s no way being openly pissed would help me in this situation.” To “So you admit you’re trying to antagonize me.” To “Um, you basically have my friends as hostages?”

She remembered the tapestry of bloodlust and violence that marked their mother’s skin, a never ending conflict that rendered itself meaningless. She thought about how it felt when she found herself standing on the edge of that pit of anger inside her. She knew that pit was deep and dark and if she ever plunged inside it to explore how deep it ran, she wouldn’t come out of it the same person. Why would anyone, let alone her own sister, want her to show that?

In the end, she said nothing, which was clearly the wrong answer for the Amazon Queen, who let out a groan of frustration and pulled something out of her pocket that expanded into a spear “Fine. I tried to let you discover it on your own but clearly you need a push.”

The golden tip broke the cement where Reyna had been standing a split second before. The steeds around them whinnied in alarm. The Amazons near Leo and Piper got the message things had gone south and swiftly pinned her friends to the floor.

Reyna grit her teeth and drew her swords “I don’t want to fight you.” She warned

“I wouldn’t want to fight me either.” Hylla agreed and attacked again.

Reyna was completely on the defensive. Every time Hylla swung her spear, it cut through whatever was in it’s path like butter. Reyna dodged and weaved, rolled and jumped, but she was still tired from her injuries and her energy was quickly leaving her.

Hylla smiled wickedly at her, and Reyna knew she was aware of this.

“You can’t defend forever.” She taunted

Reyna knew she was right. She tried for a counter attack. She freighted with one sword and tried for a thrust to the other. But Hylla saw right through her. With a powerful kick, she sent her flying.

Reyna tumbled across the concrete. She tried to stand but her body groaned a protest so loud it was hard to get it to cooperate. Her sister stalked towards her, calm and imposing. Anger began to surge through Reyna’s body.

 _No!_ she protested _I won’t give in!_

She scrambled to her feet. In the stable next to her a tan horse with a black mane was kicking furiously against the steel door, trying furiously to escape. She swung her sword.

“No! Not that one!” Hylla yelled, but she was too far away to stop her.

Reyna’s golden sword sliced through the door hinges with little resistance and that was all the encouragement it took for the steed inside to bust out, hooves a blazing. Reyna had hoped for a rampaging animal to cause enough chaos for her to rescue her friends and escape. But the horse didn’t stick around long enough to bother. In the blink of an eye, all that was left of the animal was a smoking trail of burning cement. And a handful of stunned Amazons.

It wasn’t the chaos she’d been hoping for but tit still left her with an opening while Hylla was stunned. She charged and slashed at her sister’s chest.

Hylla blocked without a second thought “Reyna Avilla Ramierez-Arellano! Do you have any idea what you just did!” She bellowed, clearly angrier at her lost merchandise than the attempted bodily harm. She held her sister’s attacks at bay like they were nothing.

“You’ve been like this ever since Father died.” Her sister voice said soft enough the Amazons and her friends couldn’t hear her but the words made Reyna freeze. “You used to be so strong. So fearless. I was the big sister, but I looked to you for reassurance.”

She kicked Reyna across the face and sent her crumpling to the ground again “I know. It’s embarrassing.” She rained down blows on Reyna that let her seeing spots. “And then you became afraid and crumped in on yourself. You’re pathetic!”

There was no way out. Her sister was too strong, they were surrounded by other Amazons who might be even less friendly, her friends were at their mercy. Even if they escaped they didn’t know where they had to go next. They were on an impossible mission with the fate of the world at stake and no time to accomplish it. On top of all that, Reyna could barely remember her own life. She’d been thrust into all of this against her will, and the people who had been kind to her could suffer through a war because of her.

Her mother’s words echoed through her head. _“Anger is like pain in a lot of ways, it tells you when something’s wrong.”_ She realized now this was what she meant. Nothing about this situation was acceptable. If she wanted it to stop, she had to make it stop herself.

Reyna was standing at the edge of that pit again. The pit terrified her, and she recognized now that it had terrified her for a very, very long time. But she didn’t back away from it. She didn’t swallow her anger or her fear or her jealousy or her pain. She jumped inside.

It was more intense that Reyna could’ve ever predicted. All Reyna knew for sure was that she was screaming. If before, she was been swallowing her emotions, this was something like vomiting them all up at once.

She thought of Piper dismissing the beauty and charm Reyna craved.

She thought of Leo and his skewed priorities and how he had hidden things from her.

She thought of Zethes, who ignored her in favor of Piper, and Khione who had tried to get them killed.

She thought of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase destroying her home and continuing on with their lives as if that horrible day had meant nothing to them.

She thought of Juno, who had stolen her memories.

But there were other things too.

Leo’s look of pride when he’d flown into camp on Festus’s back.

Piper wordlessly understanding Reyna’s plan at the Grand Canyon and attacking a monster even though she had no idea what was happening.

Chris’s sincere attempts to comfort her.

It wasn’t just anger. It was everything she’d felt over the past three days crashing down on her at once.

It wasn’t until she almost killed her sister that she snapped out of it. Her neck was trapped between her two swords, as though she were preparing to chop her head off. A look of genuine fear shone in the Amazon queen’s eyes.

Reyna dropped the swords in horror. She scrambled away, her hands clasped over her mouth in horror. She became aware that her forearm was throbbing in pain as a dull glow faded from her tattoo.

Then Hylla laughed as if in victory. She hugged Reyna, picking her up and swinging her around as if she were a child.

“I knew you could do it!” she cried

“Why in the hell would you want me to do that?” Reyna protested

“I had to show you you could do it without going too far. You never would’ve agreed when you had your memories!”

“I could’ve killed you!” Reyna protested

“But you didn’t.” Hylla assured her “And look!” She said gesturing happily to where a stunned Leo and Piper stood among several unconscious Amzonian warriors “You think they could’ve accomplished that without you?”

“Wha… How did I…. I’ve never…” Leo stammered, starring at his skinny body in amazement

“Mama’s Frenzy!” Hylla explained cheerfully “In the old days, Bellona’s priests would drink their own blood to bring about a war-like frenzy. Of course, it dosen’t work like that but mortals come up with funny explanations for everything. The more people it’s used on, the more diluted its’ effects. On a whole legion, for example, each soldier would get little more than a new burst of energy and hardened resolve. Using it on only two people… Well, let’s just day I’m impressed you managed to stay conscious. Grace went down like a sack of bricks!”

“Who?” Piper asked

“My friend from the roman camp. The one who guided me to the Wolf House the first time.” Reyna explained, though she didn’t dare look anyone in the eye. Hylla was acting like this was a fantastic breakthrough but Reyna was mortified. The idea that she could influence her friends so completely… Well, at the very least, it felt like a complete invasion of privacy.

“But enough about that. You’ve still got a quest to complete right?” She stepped over her own unconscious subordinated and brought Scipio out of his stable. He seemed to be the only one of them who had enjoyed his stay with the Amazons. His coat had been brushed until it shone, and his saddle bags were weighed down with candy. “As I told Reyna, I’m unable to guide you to the Wolf House myself. I’m afraid Aeolus is your only option if you want to find something so thoroughly hidden by the Mist. But I believe you said you were planning on using wind spirits to gain his favor? You’ll find them at Medea’s department store. She’s a returned soul who should be dead but managed to escape the underworld.”

“I recognize that name.” Piper said “She was Jason’s wife in the stories, right?”

“Bingo! Well, ex-wife to be more accurate. And she is _bitter_ about it. Anyway I think I saw that satyr you said was captured there too. She’d be willing to sell them back to you but would charge things like ten years of service or your first born. So I recommend trashing the place.” Hylla spoke amicably as she hitched Scipio up to a chariot. The warehouse was too cramped for Festus and they were close enough to their destination now anyway, so they’d probably keep him in briefcase mode until they needed to fly again.

“And us taking out a potential business rival is just a bonus, huh?” Piper said, tilting her head to the side innocently

“Now you’re getting it.” Hylla agreed. “Reyna hand me your ring. My magi is rusty since leaving CiCi’s island but I still know a trick or two.” She took the piece of jewelry and muttered something. The ring expanded and changed shape until it became the Pegasus whistle she’d woken up with. She placed it around her sister’s throat with care

Reyna mounted Scipio in low spirits. Things Hylla had said seemed to swirl and dance in from of her eyes. Something about how their father’s death had changed her, and her need to prove to Reyna she could go all out without taking it “too far”. A horrible idea was beginning to form in her head. Pieces of information clicking together to create a picture too ugly to describe.

“How old was I?” she managed “When Father died?”

Hylla hesitated, clearly this was not a pleasant topic “Eight.” She said so softly it was almost a whisper “I had just turned fifteen.”

A silent moment passed between them that seemed to last and eternity.

Hylla cleared her throat “Oh, one more thing before you leave. Reyna Avila Ramierez-Arellano, Leo Valdez, and Piper McLean, as Queen of the Amazons, I hereby banish you from this and all Amazonian territory for the crimes of attacking Amazonians, freeing our prized steed, and refusing to conform to our gender roles. If you are caught trespassing on our territory again you will be jailed, tried, and potentially executed!”

Under different circumstances, Reyna might’ve laughed. She had been itching to get out of that place since she’d woken up. But she just didn’t have the energy for it. Still, the opportunity to mess with her sister was right there and she wasn’t about to just waste it.

“Well that’s a shame, sister. It means I won’t be able to bring you Percy Jackson.” She said with a mocking smile.

Hylla’s face fell. She only managed to get a “Wait, what?” out before Reyna flicked the reigns and she and her friends raced off on Scipio out of Amazon territory and into the freedom of a cold Chicago morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See I told you this was gonna be along one. Anyway I don't think I'm that good at writing action scenes so if those were lacking I'm not surprised. Also, Reyna now duel wields purely because I thought it would be cool and Hylla's a lesbian only because I notice she repeatedly seeks out jobs where she's surrounded by beautiful women.


	13. Piper V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter includes monologues about how much characters care about each other and copious amounts of the power of friendship

It took all three of them to get the dragon in the sewer.

Leo had had to put Festus into suitcase mode while they were with the Amazons. Now they had to explore the Chicago sewer system to find the entrance to Medea’s department store. There was no room for Festus down here. Reyna couldn’t even bring Scipio and had let him wander free in the Chicago skies.

Leo was adamant how careful they had to be when dealing with Festus, not wanting to risk any damage to his beloved dragon. Piper thought he was being a little paranoid but they did what he asked. By the time they had all made it inside the sewer it was about mid-morning and all three of them were panting heavy and sweating.

It was surprisingly warm inside the sewer, with only a trickle of water running along the brick floor.

“Are all sewers this nice?” Piper wondered.

“No,” Leo said. “Trust me.”

Reyna frowned. “How do you know—"

“Hey, man, I ran away six times. I‘ve slept in some weird places, okay?”

Piper remembered bitterly what Hylla had said back in her apartment _“Liars and runaways, thieves and rejects.”_ She’d wanted to protest but that’s exactly what they were. She imagined a younger Leo curling up to go to sleep amongst the sewage and slime and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. All the times she’d stolen stupid things, she knew she had her dad to bail her out. Leo didn’t have that and after meeting Reyna’s sister, she got the impression the less she knew about her family the better. It made her feel pretty silly for pulling such stupid stunts to get her dad’s attention.

God, she missed him so much.

“Maybe we should rest.” Reyna said” No offense, but you guys look like you’ve been hit by an Amazon truck.” She made it sound like a suggestion, but she was breathing harder than anyone. Clearly lending her and Leo her strength was taxing on her.

Piper hardly needed convincing. Ever since Reyna’s Frenzy had hit her at the Amazon’s she’d felt like she was falling asleep standing up. But Leo just glared at Reyna with a coldness that didn’t suit him. The two hadn’t really gotten the chance to finish their argument from before and now that ha wasn’t fearing for his own safety, Piper could almost see the resentment building inside him. Reyna held her ground, though, silently meeting his gaze.

Finally Leo snapped “Fine!” and sat down with a huff

Reyna sat down a good distance away from him. Piper was afraid to get between them, with all the dagger they were glaring at each other. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Leo openly angry. Reyna expression was more schooled, but she recognized it now as the flimsy mask of calmness she had always worn.

“I guess if we get attacked by monsters, Reyna can always just posses us again or whatever the fuck that was.” Leo said aloud

Reyna slumped forward, looking miserable. “I didn’t know, jack ass.” She muttered weakly

“Still, what a _useful_ talent that—"

“I could care less that you’re a fire guy, Leo!” Reyna snapped “I care that you kept it a secret!”

“It’s none of your business.” Leo defended, looking pouty

“Except when we go flying up to ice palaces full of people who want to kill you!” Reyna countered “But I guess you were a little distracted by Khione to mention that.”

“That is so not fair.”

“Why not? What? Did you think if you kept quiet about it you’d have a chance? Get your head screwed on straight, Valdez. You have nothing in common with that spoiled brat!”

“Okay that’s enough!” Piper intervened “We’re all just a little cranky because it’s been a long night. But we’re gonna get some rest and calm down.”

The two of them glared at each other some more, but at least they did it in silence.

Piper couldn’t really fault Leo for being mad. Either Reyna was really dense or she was deliberately ignoring the fact that his mom had died in a fire and he had good reason to not want to bring it up. It wasn’t the first time she had dismissed his feelings either.

But, then again, after the Frenzy, it was hard to be even irritated with Reyna either.

Piper didn’t remember much from being under Reyna’s Frenzy. She certainly couldn’t tell you how she’d beaten four Amazon warriors while unarmed and having all the strength of a baked potato. But what she did remember was being suddenly overwhelmed by emotions. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew they hadn’t been hers but they had been so strong it hardly mattered. If you’d asked Piper what it felt like to be possessed, she would’ve told you it felt exactly like Reyna’s Frenzy.

Up until then, she’d thought of Reyna as always being cool, calm, and collected. Now she knew she was anything but, she just constantly put aside her emotions for the sake of her mission.

Piper took a deep breath and decided it was time she took a page out of her book.

“So this might not be the best time. But, then again, there probably isn’t any best time.” she forced herself to speak “There’s something I need to tell you. My dad’s been taken hostage.”

The two stared at her in silence for a moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity. She could practically see the gears turning in their heads as they processed the information. Before she knew it she was spilling everything, the awful giant from her dream, how he wanted her to kill them or sabotage their quest, how he had caused Festus to crash when she refused. At some point, she started crying.

Reyna reached out to her, like she wanted to pull her into a hug, but she hesitated and pulled back. Leo looked similarly unsure. They exchanged some panicked words in Spanish that Piper was pretty sure summarized to _“Alright, who’s job is it to take care of the blubbering loser we call a friend?”_ But in a way she was glad. If somebody had tried to hug her and tell her everything was alright, it would’ve felt fake.

“Piper, we’re not going to let anything happen to your dad.” Reyna finally managed

“Yeah.” Leo agreed “I mean I’ve got a hell of a bone to pick with anyone who tries to crash my dragon.”

“They have some way of monitoring me. They probably already know I told you and—"

“No!” Reyna and Leo said at the same time. Their eyes met and a silent agreement seemed to pass between them.

“It won’t matter.” Reyna assured her, before she finished her sentence “They want you to sabotage the quest right? If that’s their goal as long as there’s a chance we’ll succeed they won’t get rid of their leverage.”

“Hate to admit it, but Reyna’s right. He could also be used as a diversion. We’re on a time limit after all and any time we spend trying to rescue him is time we’re not rescuing Hera.” Leo added

“Which means we’ll have to be quick and smart about our rescue plan. If only we had some reinforcements.” Reyna thought aloud as she gripped her chin. “Maybe cutting ties with Hylla wasn’t the best idea.”

Leo snorted “Are you kidding? I still can’t believe you’re related to that psycho?”

“She takes after our mother, clearly.”

“Stop it.” Piper chocked “I’m a traitor, like Silena Beauregard. You’re supposed to be angry.”

Reyna considered this “Oh, I am angry.” She decided “Furious. Livid. Just not with you.”

“Who’s Silena Beauregard?” Leo asked

“A war hero.” Reyna said before Piper got the chance. She tried to protest, but R eyna silenced her with a look “At least now we know. We can make a plan, devise a counter-attack. Stuff like this is exactly why you shouldn’t keep secrets from your friends.” Reyna added softly

“Is that that we are?” Leo asked “Friends.”

Reyna rolled her eyes “Of course we’re friends, dumbass. Now go take a nap, you’re higher brain functions are failing.”

“Nap. Nap sounds nice.” Leo agreed. He stuffed his backpack under his head and went out like a light.

Reyna sighed “How can someone be so smart and so dumb at the same time?”

“Reyna, you do realize his mom died in a fire right? That’s why he didn’t want to talk about it.” Piper said gently

“He could’ve told us and then said he didn’t want to use it, that’s fine. It’s the secrets that bother me, not the powers. Maybe it’s because my own life’s a secret to me right now.” Reyna looked down at the tattoo on her arm, like it held the secrets of the universe “You both have such amazing powers. And I…”

“Am an unparalleled, monster-slaying badass?” Piper suggested

Reyna managed a weak chuckle “Bold words considering I just got my ass kicked by my big sister.”

“I don’t care. You’re amazing Reyna. I could Charmspeak till I’m blue in the face but it won’t save me from the monster about to eat my face off.”

Reyna continued to study her tattoo “What I do… not every conflict can or should be solved that way, Piper. You do understand that right? I’m helpful when a monster attacks, sure, but you guys are great all the time.”

Piper looked away. Ever since the Frenzy, she’d been harboring a hunch about Reyna. Something that made her feel embarrassed about the things she’d done around her before, unaware how they might come across.

“Reyna, you’re amazing, all the time. You’re strong and you’re smart and… I know it dosen’t matter but… you’re really pretty too.” Reyna blushed, and Piper knew she’d guessed correctly “Listen, I kept Leo’s secret because he’s my friend. But so are you. I’ll keep your secret too.”

For a second, Reyna’s face was full of fear but she quickly got it back under control “I have a secret?”

Piper held back a chuckle. She wouldn’t push her. She would tell them when she was ready. “Yes, you’re exhausted and need a nap. I’ll take watch, you get some sleep.”

“But—”

“Shhh. You’re getting sleeeepy. You’re getting very sleeeeepy.”

Reyna chuckled and mumbled something Piper couldn’t quite make out but her eyelids were already fluttering closed. Soon Piper was alone in the sewer with only the sound of her friend’s snoring to keep her company.

Surprisingly, the watch went by uneventfully. It was hard to tell just how much time passed, but she let her friends sleep for what she thought was about two hours. She didn’t get any shut eye herself but now that they were out of danger and she could catch her breath a little, she felt surprisingly rested.

Soon enough they found themselves starting at a polished set of elevator doors engraved with a cursive M.

Leo examined the directory next to the doors and whistled. “Magical appliances on level 2, weaponry on level 3, potions and poisons on level 4. Yeah, I’m guessing this is the place.”

“Kennels?” Piper read off the directory “What do you think they keep in there?”

“God, I hope its dogs. I like dogs. Please be dogs.” Reyna said with excitement in her voice that made Piper laugh, which apparently made Reyna remember what they were there to do “You should take the lead on this one, Pipes. If Madea’s a businesswoman, we’ll likely have to negotiate with her. You’re charmspeak will be important. Also, I doubt she’ll be excited to see Hylla’s sister.”

“Oh yeah. Hey maybe we should try and disguise you.” Leo suggested

“That might work.” Reyna turned to Piper “I don’t suppose you can summon any more magic make-up for us?”

“I don’t know and I don’t really want to try. Besides, doesn’t that just make it more suspicious if she finds you out?” Piper pointed out

Reyna looked disappointed “I guess so.”

“It’ll be fine. Come one.” She said and called the elevator

Piper had seen her fair share of department store’s in her life. Usually she was either stealing from them or her dad was trying to buy her something nice to get her to stop stealing. But she had to admit, Madea’s took the cake. The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.

Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Piper couldn‘t see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Piper saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.

Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. “Check it out.”

In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage—like an oversize canary cage.

Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.

“Coach Hedge!” Piper said “We‘ve got to get down there.”

A voice said, “May I help you find something?”

All three of them jumped back.

A woman had just appeared in front of them. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model—maybe fifty years old, though it was hard to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal super-model way—thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.

She smiled. “I‘m so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?”

Reyna sent Piper a look like _All yours._

Piper stepped forward and cleared her throat “You’re Madea right?”

The woman flashed a dazzling smile so bright Piper had the shield her eyes “Oh, how nice to be recognized! I so rarely was in my own, always overshadowed by my father or husband. Yes, my dear, I am Madea, Princess of Colchis. And who may you be?”

Piper remembered the stories about some of the things Madea had done when she was married to Jason. One of them included her tricking a king’s daughters into throwing him into a pool of acid, persuading them it would make him young and healthy again. Another had her killing her own brother to cover her escape with Jason. The princess might act nice, but she had some nasty tricks up her sleeve and Piper didn’t want to be on the other end of them. But if they wanted those storm spirits and their coach back, they didn’t have a choice.

“My name is Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. I am here to inquire about the price of those storm spirits and that satyr, if you don’t mind.”

Madea put a finger to her lips, studying the three of them “A daughter of Aphrodite you say? Yes, I should have known.” Her eyes flicked over Leo, like he was of no consequence, and settled on Reyna “You there, you look quite a deal like that nasty Amazon Queen who was in here the other day.”

Reyna stiffened “A family resemblance. I am also a daughter of Bellona.” Not technically a lie, but also not the full truth. Smart.

“I’m Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus if anyone cares.” Leo grumbled

Madea looked at him surprised “Leo Valdez… yes, that name does ring a bell. What an odd coincidence we should meet face to face.”

“What do you mean?” Leo asked, startled and confused

But Madea payed him no mind and turned her attention back to Reyna “And you, my dear? What is your name?”

“Reyna.” She tried, still clearly unkeen to share much about herself. But when Madea gasped in surprise, Piper felt her stomach fall out from her anyway.

“Reyna.” Madea purred. She smiled at Reyna enough sweetness to give an elephant diabetes “What a lovely name. It means queen in Spanish, you know.”

Reyna’s eyes had glossed over, her voice sounded dazed and sleepy “Does it? Must have slipped my mind.”

“Oh, yes.” Madea said “You know, my patron warned me to be on the look out for a daughter of Bellona who was a queen. I was quite excited to meet your sister. But she turned out to not be the right fit after all. But I think I understand now.”

Piper looked to Leo for support but his eyes had the same glazed look as Reyna’s. Madea came over and put a hand on his shoulder “I have decided, daughter of Aphrodite. I will give you the satyr and the storm spirits, and in exchange your friends will stay here with me.”

Piper felt like an unmelted snowball had settled in her stomach “What? That’s not an option?”

The princess smiled playfully at her “Isn’t it? Tell me, children, don’t you want to stay here? Do you really want to rescue that awful goddess who ruined your lives?”

Leo shook his head “Why did I agree to come on this quest again? Tia Callidia… Hera… with her snakes and knifes and fire. She tried to kill me, why should I help her?”

“She stole my memories. She stole me from my life and everyone who might’ve cared about me.” Reyna agreed “How could anyone be so selfish?”

“Guys no!” Piper protested. Her heart raced. She remembered most of the stories about Madea had her persuading or manipulating people. Now she realized it wasn’t just that she was persuasive, she was charmspeaking her friends.

“Reyna, you’re always the one telling us how important this quest is. If we fail, the whole world could be in jeopardy. Is that what you want?” She pleaded, trying hard to keep the fear out of her voice

Reyna didn’t even blink “She’s a horrible person. She can rot for all I care.”

Madea smiled smugly at Piper “You see, my dear? Your friends want to stay with me. They will make excellent offerings to my patron. A boy and a girl… Yes, she will be pleased. Now then, head down the kennels for me will you, I have a surprise for the two of you!”

“Sure thing.” Leo said and boarded the escalator

“Doggies!” Reyna exclaimed and slid down the escalator railing

Madea tutted at the look on Piper’s face “Oh, my dear, there really is no need to be upset. Now you can go and tell Enceladus those other two demigods are out of the way and collect your father. That is what you want, isn’t it?”

The words washed over Piper as powerfully as a good surfing wave. The force of the suggestion nearly lifted her off her feet. She wanted to pay any price. She wanted to say yes.

Then her stomach twisted. Piper realized she was being charmspoken. She‘d sensed something like it before, when Drew spoke at the campfire, but this was a thousand times more potent. No wonder her friends were dazed. Was this was what people felt when Piper used charmspeak? A feeling of guilt settled over her. No wonder Hylla had called her a master manipulator.

She summoned all her willpower. “No. I want those storm spirits and that satyr but not at the price of my friends!”

Madea tilted her head to the side, as if it had been a long time since anyone had said no to her “Very well then, if you can convince your friends down there that this is not a good deal, I’m willing to listen to other offers.”

After feeling the effects of charmspeak for the first time, she didn’t like those odds. Madea’s voice was so much more powerful than Piper‘s, so full of confidence, Piper didn‘t stand a chance. But she had to try. She walked with Madea to the escalator.

“You work for Enceladus.” she said. “That’s how you know about my dad and our quest.”

Medea laughed. “Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause—a patron you cannot begin to challenge. I am simply a seer. I can see the future as well as your little oracle. I know much about all of you, my dear.” She said my dear in a way that sent a shiver down Piper’s spine. “Why I recall one time, years ago, when I was still suffering in the Fields of Punishment, I had a vision of the seven in your so-called Great Prophecy. I saw your friend Leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. I stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little—just enough to visit him.”

“Leo‘s mother,” Piper said as they stepped off the escalator. “Leo, listen to this! She helped get your mother killed!”

For a moment, the light came back to Leo’s eyes, shocked and angry. Then Madea stepped in, smiling as if nothing were wrong “Yes, Leo, it’s true. I informed by patron of your destiny. But that is all I did. In the end, you know what truly caused your mother’s death. Don’t you Leo?”

The light in his eyes faded so quick it might’ve never been there to begin with “Yes. I do know.”

Madea turned to Piper “You see, my dear, you‘re no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe. I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice.”

“Circe?” Reyna frowned, like the name sounded familiar “She turns men into guinea pigs.”

The princess laughed “Yes, child, that’s her. I understand you spent some time on her island, though you never took her lessons about men to heart. That was after you killed your father, isn’t it?”

Madea said it so casually you’d have thought she was discussing sports, but Piper felt like she’d been slapped. “Don’t be ridiculous! Reyna would never do that! Leo listen to me. What happened to your mom was an accident, it wasn’t your fault!” She tried to shake his shoulders, but his expression just fell further into despair.

“It’s true then.” Reyna said, her voice so soft and fragile it was hard to believe it was coming from Reyna Ramirez-Arellano “I suspected… something Hylla said… I really killed my own father.” She fell to her knees. Madea smiled in victory as Piper’s world tilted on its axis.

“You see what you get, following the gods, child? Your mother revealed who she really was to your father around the time you were born. Something about helping him prepare for raising you and your sister. But it drove him crazy, knowing he had seduced a goddess and could never have her fully. He went to Iraq, hoping to find her again, but it only broke him further. Knowing his daughters were demigods, he saw danger at every turn. He couldn’t allow them to so much as leave the house without his protection. In the end, he became a mania, a spirit of insanity, and attacked your sister. You slew him as if he were any other monster, but he was still your father.”

“I killed my father.” Reyna agreed, tears welling in her eyes

“Reyna…” Piper tried, but the words wouldn’t come. What could you possibly say to a story like that?

“Your mother is the goddess of destruction after all. And your power is to infect others with your own blind rage. What else could you possibly be?”

Reyna began to sob, her body shaking. “Stop it!” Piper cried, rushing to her friend’s side

Madea turned to her “Listen to me girl.” She plucked a diamond off one of her bracelets and tossed it into the fountain. She said an odd incantation and suddenly the image of Jane, her father’s assistant appeared in the mist. Madea congratulated her on her good work, luring Tristen McLean into a trap and told her to be on standby in case Piper chose to side with Enceladus and to prepare a reasonable excuse for the press about his disappearance. Jane agreed, and the image vanished.

“Now, then.” Madea said easily “Two demigods for my storm spirits and a satyr. Shall I wrap that up for you? She smiled and produced a golden backpack that sucked up all the windspirits so it looked like a tornado in reverse. She handed Piper the backpack as if the bargain were already closed. She’d already lost.

Piper looked down at her dagger. The blade trembled in her hand. She couldn‘t use it for a weapon any better than Helen of Troy could, but it was still a looking glass, and what she saw in it was a scared girl with no chance of winning.

Madea grabbed her face and forced her to look at her friends with their empty, broken faces full of suffering and despair. “Your friends deserve to die, and they know that deep down. That is why you cannot win. Give up. Take your storm spirits and go, it’s a good bargain, really.”

Piper had to remind herself to breath. She felt the words washing over her, willing her to obey. Her fist clenched to hard she felt blood begin to trickle from her fingernails cutting into her flesh. She remembered how it felt to have all of Reyna’s rage, despair, pride and hope washing over her, until there was almost nothing left. She would not give in.

“Listen to me! Both of you!” She screamed, twisting herself out of the princesses grasp “What happened to your parents was not your fault! I’ll keep saying that as many times as you need to hear it!”

“Reyna! You think you’re not good at love, right? You don’t like being touched because you don’t want to give the impression your open to something you’re not. You don’t think you’d make a good partner if you can’t commit fully or show your affection like other people do. You think nobody could love you if you can’t love them in return.” She wasn’t sure how, but she’d known ever since the Frenzy. Maybe it was a child of goddess of love thing “But you’re wrong, Reyna! You love so strongly it could knock someone’s teeth out! That’s why you want to save Hera, even after all the awful things she’s done to you, right? Because you want to make sure the people you love are safe and happy. You did what you had to do because you love your sister and couldn’t stand what your dad was doing to her. Even after everything that’s happened, I know you know that’s true!”

Reyna’s body stopped shaking. She began to slowly rise to her feet.

“Impossible!” Madea gasped “Reyna! Child! It’s no use. No demigod will ever heal your heart, remember?”

“No.” Reyna said, as if coming out of a daze “I don’t remember.”

“Leo! She’s the one who organized your mother’s death! She’s the mastermind behind all of this! Don’t let her trick you into thinking it was your fault. Her and her patron… They targeted you because they know how important you are. And they’re right okay? We need you Leo. We never would’ve gotten this far without you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.” As she spoke she poured as much of her own desperation, fear, and anger into her words as she could. She needed her friends to hear how much she needed them now. “They wanted to sabotage your life, make you so miserable you won’t want to oppose them. Don’t let them win! I know it’s hard. I didn’t go through the things you did. But I promise you this, you will never be alone again. You have a family now, whether it’s your siblings in Cabin 9 or just me! When I told you about my dad, I revealed myself a traitor. But you didn’t hesitate to stand by me. Well I’m standing by you now, and I will for the rest of my life if I have to. You’re my friends and I need you. Both of you!” Piper finished, the words seeming to come from her throat of their own accord

Leo blinked, shaking his head as if to clear it “Something about my mother … ?” Leo frowned, then turned toward Medea. “You … you‘re working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the machine shop. Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it.”

Madea was still trying to talk Reyna down, as she approached, her dual swords gleaming “Patricide is a very serious crime, my dear. You could never return to—”

WHAM! Leo’s three-pound hammer slammed into Madea’s beautiful face.

“Stop ignoring me.” He said lowly

Madea vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared on the other side of the fountain “Bah! I’ll simply collect payment another way!” She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled. Reyna made a charge but she disappeared again, this time reappearing on base of the escalator.

Before Reyna could go after her, the giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts—flesh-and-blood winged dragons—crawled out from the pits below. Each was the size of a camper van, maybe not large compared to Festus, but large enough.

“Oh, hey, look, it’s not dogs.” Leo said meekly.

“Yes, Leo, I see that.” Reyna replied, her voice twinged with disappointment

The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Piper could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned his angry orange eyes on her.

“Don‘t look them in the eye!” Reyna warned. “They‘ll paralyze you.”

“Indeed!” Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the fun. “These two dears have been with me a long time—sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!”

The dragons lunged.

“Leo, the suitcase!” Reyna barked as she charged to intercept the beasts

“On it! But we’ll need time!” He scrambled for the golden luggage, punched a few buttons and raced back to the action “I take the mouths, you take the hides?”

“Yeah, no shit sherlock.” Reyna said, parkouring gracefully off the fountain and scraping her blades across one’s thick hide.

“I guess fire powers are useful occasionally.” Leo commented as he took a full blast without flinching and swung his hammer into the beasts nose

Meanwhile Madea was already on the second floor where she‘d be able to choose from a wide assortment of deadly appliances.

“Oh, no, you don‘t,” Piper growled, and took off after her.

When Medea spotted Piper, she started climbing in earnest. She was quick for a three-thousand-year-old lady. Piper climbed at top speed, taking the steps three at a time, and still she couldn‘t catch her. Medea didn‘t stop at floor two. She hopped the next escalator and continued to ascend.

She found her on floor five, snatching up a blue potion in a swan shaped vial. Piper grabbed a shield from a nearby mannequin and flung it like a frisbee at the princess. It caught her in the chest and sent her stumbling backwards, crashing over the counter, breaking vials and knocking down shelves. When the sorceress stood from the wreckage, her dress was stained a dozen different colors. Many of the stains were smoldering and glowing.

“Fool!” Medea wailed. “Do you have any idea what so many potions will do when mixed?”

“Kill you?” Piper said hopefully.

The carpet began to steam around Medea‘s feet. She coughed, and her face contorted in pain—or was she faking?

Above them, the stained glass ceiling shattered and Scipio plummeted downward, hoofs first.

“I love this goddamn horse!” Reyna cried from below

Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now. The air filled with noxious gas. Even with the roof open, Piper could feel the heat intensifying. She backed up to the edge of the railing, keeping her dagger pointed toward Medea.

“I will not be abandoned again!” Madea wailed, snatching up some unbroken potion and holding it above her head like it was a grenade. She looked so desperate Piper couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“Maybe if you treated people with kindness and love, instead of just always looking after your own self-interest, people wouldn’t abandon you in the first place.” She said.

She turned and jumped off the banister into a swan dive. She plummeted for only a second before Leo and Reyna caught her. Reyna on Scipio and Leo on Festus, who was holding Coach Hedge’s cage in his claws. They settled her aboard Scipio and races higher into the sky.

She heard Medea screaming in rage as they soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago. Then the department store exploded behind them.

“Hey Leo.” Reyna called “Wanna race?”

Leo smiled mischievously “You are so on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a note about asexual Reyna from your asexual author. So I have written that Reyna is adverse to physical touch as part of her asexuality. This is not my experience as an asexual person or any asexual person that I know. We often times do crave non-sexual touching, cuddling, hugging, ect. I wrote Reyna with this trait mostly because I wasn't sure how else to prelude to her asexuality, and the feelings of disconnect it can cause in our relationships, in a story where I have consciously decided not to include any romantic subplots. Reyna has not yet realized that she is asexual, or at least not the term for it. So she thinks, like I did for some time, that this discomfort with physical intimacy is a personal failing on her part. After all, it dosen't bother anyone else so she must be the problem, right?  
> Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm going to cut all of the Kind Midas chapters because I don't really see the point in them. They don't really add anything except I guess demonstrating how powerful Jason is. It's a weird random encounter that would've fit perfectly in PJO but not HOO which is less random encounters and more going to specific places to achieve specific goals. I anyone wants to convince me to keep them, feel free to leave a comment!


	14. Leo III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so... I'm not dead and I'm not giving up on this story. I never expected this hiatus to go on for so long and I want to say thank you to everyone who left comments encouraging me to keep going. I honestly don't think I ever would've written this without them. It made me feel like I wasn't just writing for me anymore but that there are people out there who genuinely enjoy and follow my work enough to ask my to keep going with it. It's humbling, it's gratifying, thank you.  
> Anyway as far this actual chapter in and of itself goes, I initially planned to go all the way to when the Hunters dropped the party off at Aeolus's Palace but as I kept going further into the text I ended up with the same problem Uncle Rick did--namely that Leo is the wrong person to be narrating that art of the story. So the result is not much actually happened in this chapter aside from the big whump and some hints at character development to come for the girls. Hopefully I'm not too rusty now!

Flying on Festus was a thousand times better than some boring airplane. The cold winter air whipped thorough Leo’s curls and stars twinkling over head. Nothing could compete with this. 

The girls flew ahead on Scipio, chatting about something that was lost in the wind by the time their words could reach Leo but for once he didn’t feel lonely or excluded. It felt kinda nice actually to be alone with his thoughts without any “organic beings” as Hephaestus would put it interjecting. He made one pipe-cleaner helicopter after another but his hands worked practically on autopilot. Scipio and Festus both seemed to know where they were going and would fight against any attempt to steer them off course so there wasn’t much else to do it let his thoughts wander. 

Naturally, they wandered to his dad and the conversation he’d had with him in his dream just before they went to Madea’s. 

It hadn’t been a long conversation but growing up without a dad it’s hard not to imagine how things will go if you ever do meet him. Hephaestus didn’t exactly leave the best first impression but Leo couldn’t deny he saw a certain resemblance between them. He wasn’t sure if that was something to be proud of or not but it did make him feel a bit less like an outsider, an oddity or a freak. He came from somewhere, and there was something undeniably comforting in knowing that. 

There were also a couple things his father had said that worried Leo. He claimed the Giants served a mistress more powerful and terrible than any god or titan. He claimed Leo would play an important role in defeating her but to do so he would have to sacrifice friends and lose irreplaceable tools. 

Sacrificing friends made sense, though he wasn’t happy about it. The thought of anything happening to Piper or Reyna made him feel hallow inside. But he understood how it could happen, they’d risked their lives so many times now Leo was thinking of starting a “near-death-experience” jar to help him save money. But what tool could he lose that couldn’t be replaced?

“Hey.” Reyna’s voice startled him out of his thoughts, making him jump. He turned to find the girls had moved to be flying just behind Festus’s wing. “Sorry.” She said though she didn’t sound it “You mind if we hang out back here? It’s warmer near Festus.”

Leo recovered enough to manage a cocky grin “Sure. If you don’t mind me taking the lead in our race.”

Reyna scrunched up her nose “Please. I’m just conserving stamina until the final stretch. Some of us fly on living beings.”

“Well I’m sorry some of us are wrong.” Leo replied easily which earned him an exaggerated gasp as Reyna covered Scipio’s peanut butter colored ears

Piper cleared her throat “So anyway, we’ve been talking about what to do about Enchidas. Reyna has this… plan.” She eyed Reyna wearily, clearly not fond of the plan

But Reyna just nodded, unperturbed “The plan is we’re not going to make a plan.” She said confidently 

Leo shot Piper a look like _is she serious_ but Reyna just waved them off “There’s more to it than that. Listen. From what Piper’s told me Enchidas was created to be the anti-Athena. Meaning he excels in strategy. We also know he has some way of monitoring Piper and we have to assume they’re watching all of our communication. He’ll know any strategy we come up with and be able to devise a counter to it. We simply won’t be able to outthink him.”

Leo tilted his head to the side “It sounds like you’re saying we’ve already lost.” That was a very un-Reyna thing to do

“No!” Reyna cried, like an annoyed child “There is a way we can counter his strategies. What’s the one thing no one can accurately plan for?”

Leo blinked “Uh… traffic?”

“Chaos, dumbass.” Reyna pointed to Piper’s new golden backpack “Clarisse and Percy were talking back at Camp Half-Blood about how even the Titan army was hesitant to use storm spirits becuase of how chaotic they were. If we could convince Aeolus to help us without handing them over it might give us the edge.”

“Or they might just attack us and we have to fight them as well as Enchidas.” Piper countered “Unless we have some way of controlling them, I say it’s too risky. Especially with my dad around.”

Reyna sighed, “Any plan we make is going to have some element of risk to it, Pipes, it’s simply unavoidable.” She replied, it was clear they’d been rehashing the same argument for a while now. She looked at Leo hesitantly, like she wasn’t happy about this part of the plan “There _is_ another way to unleash some… controlled chaos. But I really don’t want to do it if you guys aren’t on board.”

Leo felt as if a cold stone had been dropped in his stomach. He got her meaning immediately. He opened his mouth but Piper got there before he could find the words “Reyna, of course it’s okay! If it helps us rescue my dad—“

“Actually,” Leo interrupted “I’m with Rara on this one. I think I work better when I can access my higher processing skills.” 

Reyna raised an eyebrow “Rara?”

Leo felt himself flush “You know… your initials. R-A-R-A?”

Reyna blinked “Oh, fuck me. I didn’t even notice that.” Which made Leo chuckle

“Guys. Focus please?” Piper butted in

Leo shrugged “Well from where I’m sitting, the more options we have the better right? No harm in trying to hang onto the storm spirits.”

“But even if we can hang onto them, we can’t just unleash them on the battlefield. Especially with my dad out there.” Piper countered

“Maybe Aeolus will have someway to control them?” Leo suggested

“Maybe we should ask Hedge.” Reyna added, leaning over to peer at the frozen goat man still frozen in his giant birdcage in Festus’s claws through the falling snow “I mean Fauns are nature spirits too. Who kno— Leo look out!” She suddenly tugged in Scipio’s reigns, yanking the mare sharply to the left.

Before Leo had a second to ask what she meant he felt a horrible shudder travel through Festus and, for the second time in as many nights, the bronze dragon plummeted to earth. 

Reyna was behind him in an instant, grabbing him and pulling him off Festus’s warm metallic back even as Leo fought against it. He didn’t want to let go but his fingers slipped from the dull bronze surface all the same. He was dangling hundreds of feet in the air, Scipio’s strong wings tickling his head as he fought hard not to lose altitude. Leo was forced to watch from above as his dragon was struck again and again and again. Large boulders smashing into his large, bronze hide and crumpling it as of it were paper. 

“Festus!” He sobbed as his dragon crashed into the earth, making a giant mushroom with the snow.

A lot of things happened after that. A forced landing as Scipio couldn’t carry all their weight. Piper screaming something as she spotted a cluster of six-armed ogre looking things, some of which were still carrying boulders. Reyna grabbing her swords and charging into battle. But it was like Leo was experiencing them in the second person. All he really experienced was descending down to earth, stumbling in the knee deep snow, and collapsing on the his once magnificent bronze dragon now reduced to scrap metal. Reyna’s battle cries and Piper’s soothing pleas sounded distant, like someone else was hearing them instead of him. Even the cold and wetness on his face didn’t feel real. 

What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rosebushes like a pillow.

“No,” Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon‘s head and stroked its snout. The dragon‘s eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear.

“You can‘t go,” Leo pleaded. “You‘re the best thing I ever fixed.”

The dragon‘s head whirred its gears, as if it were purring.

He remembered what Hephaestus had said: That isn’t your fault, Leo. Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines.

His dad had been trying to warn him.

He lifted his head for some reason and saw an ogre looming in the shadows.

“Get out of here.” Leo said through gritted teeth, his hands were already smoking “You did this. You don’t get to look at him.”

The six armed monster lumbered towards him, plucking a massive bolder from the earth as if he were scooping up sand on the beach. But Leo moved before he got the chance to use it. In an instant his hands were on the Ogre’s ugly face and the air was filled with the revolting scent of ogre skin under a blowtorch. He dropped the bolder and fell backwards into the snow. He didn’t get up again.

“Leo?” Reyna’s voice caught his attention. She was sweating and breathing hard amongst a sea of severed body parts, halfway melted into mounds of red clay in the snow. Her expression was a mix of surprise and horror.

Then her eyes drifted behind him and her face softened somewhat with understanding. Leo remembered painfully when he first descended into Camp Half-Blood, the amazed expression on her face that made him beam with pride.

“Is that…?” Piper’s appeared from behind a tree, a canteen of nectar in hand and her clothes torn suspiciously in places. Leo could only nod “Oh, Leo I’m—”

“Shh.” Reyna put her hand out suddenly “Do you hear that?”

For a second, Leo wasn’t sure what she was talking about, then he heard it too, a sound that had previously been drowned out by the sounds of combat. The remains of the dragon were clicking. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern … triggering an old memory in Leo‘s mind. Leo realized Festus was trying to say something. He was using Morse code—just like Leo‘s mom had taught him years ago. Leo listened more intently, translating the clicks into letters: a simple message repeating over and over.

“Yeah,” Leo said. “I understand. I will. I promise.”

The dragon‘s eyes went dark. Festus was gone.

Leo cried. He wasn‘t even embarrassed. His friends stood on either side, patting his shoulders, saying comforting things; but the buzzing in Leo‘s ears drowned out their words.

Finally Piper said “What did you promise?”

Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon‘s head panel, just to be sure, but the control disk was cracked and burned beyond repair.

Leo didn‘t answer. He worked at the dragon‘s neck hinges until the head was detached. It weighed about a hundred pounds, but Leo managed to hold it in his arms. He looked up at the starry sky and said, “Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I‘ve never asked you for anything.”

The wind picked up, and the dragon‘s head floated out of Leo‘s arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.

“Wh—What was that about?” Reyna asked, her eyes wide

“Something my dad told me,” Leo said. “Everything can be reused.”

For a moment, Reyna stared at him as if he’d said something profound, then quickly looked away “Hey look Hedge’s cage broke! Piper why don’t you help me carry him back to Scipio?”

Leo recognized the flimsy excuse to give him some privacy for what it was but didn’t bother pointing it out. He spent a few minutes saying his last farewells. He wasn’t stupid. They couldn’t stay here forever and it was always best to move on than to sit in sorrow. But in the moment he appreciated the quiet and space.

When he made his way over to his friends he caught them in the middle of an argument.

“You two elected my leader.” Reyna was saying “Well here’s how I lead.”

“By telling your friends to run off and abandon you?” Piper challenged

“We can’t fit everyone on Scipio. If worst comes to worst Scipio knows the way to Aeolus’s. He’ll be able to guide you. I’ll carry Hedge. I can do this.”

“We’re not separating Reyna. Who knows what else is in this forest?” Piper insisted

Reyna sighed “The fact still remains that you and Leo are destined to break Juno’s cage. Your safety takes priority.”

“That’s bullshit! You saw how I was able to convince those ogres—”

“Gegeines.”

“Whatever! I got them to stay still while you cut them apart. We’re stronger together, Reyna!”

“Piper’s right.” Leo interjected, startling the two girls who hadn’t noticed him “We’ve come this far together, we’re not splitting up now.”

Reyna opened her mouth, ready to argue, but Piper put a hand on her shoulder and said “We’re your friends, dipshit. You can’t make us leave.” Leo wasn’t sure whether she was charm-speaking or not but Reyna deflated all the same

“Scipio are we anywhere near the palace?” the mare nodded, whinnying happily and trotting around with excitement

“I think that means we’re really close.” Piper translated

Reyna sighed in defeat “Fine. Scipio you take Hedge and scout ahead. Let us know if you see anything dangerous up ahead.” Scipio whinnied in protest “No. Not you too now. I’ll whistle if anything goes wrong. Now go!”

The peanut butter colored horse relented, giving his master a final nuzzle before taking off into the sky again. A five-foot tall goat man balanced awkwardly on his back. It was a majestic sight.

“He’s a good friend.” Leo observed

“Yeah.” Reyna agreed mournfully “I wish I could understand what the heck he was saying.”

She stared at the retreated shape against the night sky like he held the key to the secrets of the universe. He wondered if that was how he looked when Festus’s head blew away.

He wished he could reach inside his tool belt and pick just the right wrench to fix Reyna‘s problems—maybe a little hammer—bonk the sticking spot and make everything run right. That would be a lot easier than trying to talk it through. Not good with organic life forms. Thanks for those inherited traits, Dad.

“Come on, we’re burning moonlight.” Leo gave an encouraging pat on the shoulder and took the lead, lighting up his hands to keep the chill off.

And, maybe, just maybe, thanks for something else too.


End file.
